Executive Order Update: June 6th, 2025

This week’s update focuses on navigating the travel ban President Trump issued on Wednesday evening. While our information is up to date as of sending this email, further guidance from the administration and court orders may impact the implementation of this ban. As our communities continue facing threats and instability, NNAAC will continue making every effort to inform and advocate for our communities and provide updates on our website.  

On June 4, the president issued a proclamation entitled: Restricting the Entry of Foreign Nationals to Protect the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats. The proclamation’s targets are all countries with primarily Arab, Muslim, Black, and Brown nationals.  

Implementation Date 

• The travel bans and restrictions will begin on June 9, 2025. 

Countries Listed 

• Complete Ban on the Nationals of: Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. 
• Partial Ban on the Nationals of: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela 

Impact on People Currently Possessing Visas: 

• The proclamation states that it only prohibits the issuance of new visas.  
• Visas issued before June 9 will remain valid and will not be revoked.  
• Please note that this does not mean the administration will stop revoking visas and work permits on other grounds, as it has been doing since January. 

Restrictions on Listed Countries 

• Complete Ban: The proclamation bans the issuance of all new immigrant and nonimmigrant visas, with a few exceptions listed below.  
• Partial Ban: The proclamation bans the issuance of most visas, including student, tourist, business, and exchange visitor visas. It permits certain types of work visas, but those visas will have shorter durations, and employers will be barred from sponsoring Green Cards for nationals of those countries. 

Exceptions 

• Lawful Permanent Residents (Green Card Holders)  
• Existing visa holders (if the visa was issued before the proclamation goes into effect)  
• Dual nationals who are nationals of a country that is not banned and travel on that passport. 
• Immediate family immigrant visas (IR-1/CR-1, IR-2/CR-2, IR-5) “with clear and convincing evidence of identity and family relationship (eg DNA).”  
• Adoptions (IR-3, IR-4, IH-3, IH-4 visas) 
• Afghan Special Immigrant Visas  
• Immigrant visas for “ethnic and religious minorities facing persecution” in Iran  
• Refugees already admitted to the United States and individuals who have already been granted asylum 
• Individuals “granted withholding of removal or protection under the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment of Punishment” (CAT) 
• The ban states it does not “limit the ability of an individual to seek asylum, refugee status, withholding of removal, or protection under the CAT.” 

Duration of Travel Bans and Potential for New Bans 

• The list of countries will be regularly assessed. The first assessment will come in 90 days and then every 180 days thereafter. This creates an additional source of insecurity and instability for immigrant communities. 
• The proclamation specifically singles out and names Egypt to direct the Secretary of State to review the “practices and procedures of Egypt to confirm the adequacy of its current screening and vetting capabilities.”     

Purported Justification for the Travel Ban 

• The proclamation included justifications for each listed country’s restrictions, including visa overstay percentages; inability to vet people and travel documents due to war and instability; a lack of cooperation in accepting back deported citizens; and links to terrorism or state sponsorship of terror. 
• Potential legal impact: Providing separate justifications for each listed country makes it more difficult to challenge the entirety of the ban in court.  
• Cites the Immigration and Nationality Act as providing the executive branch with the authority to suspend or restrict certain entries to the United States.  
• States in the preamble that the purpose of this ban is to “ensure that aliens admitted and already admitted… do not bear hostile attitudes toward its citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles, and do not advocate for, aid, or support designated foreign terrorists or other threats to our national security.” 

This new travel ban is broader in scope than the bans issued during the president’s first administration. It reflects prior commitments to significantly limit the entry of Muslims, Africans, Arabs, and other groups. At the same time, the proclamation includes official justifications and outlined exceptions that align with criteria the Supreme Court indicated in 2018 could protect such policies from broad legal challenges alleging racial animus. Nonetheless, numerous legal challenges are expected, along with potential court injunctions and appellate rulings that may create further uncertainty about how the policy is implemented. NNAAC will continue to provide updates in our weekly emails and on our website.