Washington: US President Donald Trump has signed a proclamation imposing a travel ban on 12 countries and restricting the entry of seven others to the US, citing national security concerns. 

According to the proclamation, the 12 countries that were banned include Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.

Additionally, the order partially restricts and limits the entry of nationals of the following seven countries -- Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.

The announcement of the ban followed a recent violent terror attack in Boulder, Colorado, on participants of a peaceful rally calling for the safe return of Israeli hostages from Hamas captivity.

"The recent terror attack in Boulder, Colorado, has underscored the extreme dangers posed to our country by the entry of foreign nationals who are not properly vetted, as well as those who come here as temporary visitors and overstay their visas. We don't want them," Trump said in a video statement released by the White House on Wednesday night.

Meanwhile, US Homeland Security officials said that the terror attack perpetrator in Colorado, Mohammed Sabry Solima, was allowed entry into the country under the former Biden Administration and overstayed his visa.

The White House Deputy Press Secretary Abigail Jackson took to social media stating that President Trump is protecting Americans from foreign actors who pose security threats to the country.

"President Trump is fulfilling his promise to protect Americans from dangerous foreign actors that want to come to our country and cause us harm. These commonsense restrictions are country-specific and include places that lack proper vetting, exhibit high visa overstay rates, or fail to share identity and threat information. President Trump will always act in the best of interest of the American people and their safety," Abigail Jackson said on X.

The recent proclamation echoed a series of travel bans issued during the first term of Trump's administration to seven majority-Muslim nations from coming to the US.

It included Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. The move witnessed legal challenges before President Joe Biden repealed it after he assumed office in 2021. (IANS)