Human rights groups have condemned the Trump administration’s bans on people from 19 countries travelling to the US, saying the policy is racist.

President Trump personally announced an extensive travel ban that will restrict travel to the US by nationals from a series of countries, including Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.

The ban also partially restricts and limits the entry of nationals of Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.

The rights groups say the ban disproportionately targets Muslim-majority nations and undermines the United States’ foundational principles of equality under the law.

The NGO Human Rights First (HRF) said the move was “racist, punitive and anti-immigrant”.

HRF Senior Director of Refugee Advocacy Robyn Barnard said: “This return to divisive and racist policies to target entire populations marks yet another anti-immigrant and punitive action taken by President Trump”.

“The ban will harm refugees, asylum seekers, and other vulnerable populations, including many who have been waiting to reunite with loved ones in our country. Bans do nothing to make our country secure, but rather undermine our national security and arbitrarily target those most in need of protection,” she said.

HRF said the ban follows earlier moves by the first Trump administration which spelled chaotic foreign policy and marks another broken promise to Afghans who supported and advanced the US mission in Afghanistan for decades.

“These individuals are now in grave danger of retaliation by the Taliban since the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. While Afghan Special Immigrant Visa holders are exempt from the travel ban restrictions, other at-risk Afghans will be impacted by this hateful ban,” HRF said.

Many Afghans are at risk due to the deteriorating conditions in the country and many have been waiting for years to reunite with loved ones in the US.

HRF said the US government had a duty to protect the Afghans and the travel ban makes it even harder for them to escape persecution, jeopardising their lives and the promises made to them by the United States.

“The Trump administration’s travel ban will block vulnerable Afghans from reaching safety and prolong the separation of desperate families with loved ones in the United States, including in some cases children who were separated from parents during the 2021 withdrawal,” HRF said.

“Our country has a duty and moral imperative to honour commitments made to those who risked everything in support of advancing American values,” the agency said.

The executive order ban comes after previous anti-immigrant and refugee bans implemented following the President Trump’s inauguration.

And it follows a so-called “Muslim ban” instituted by the first Trump administration that was found to be racist by a court and ultimately reversed by the Biden administration.

The 2018 ban was condemned by human rights organisations worldwide as a violation of US commitments to religious freedom, non-discrimination, and refugee protection.

“This new iteration of the travel ban is a continuation of that assault on the rights of vulnerable populations, especially Muslims and other minorities, and represents a dangerous abuse of executive power,” HRF said.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) said President Trump’s second term has already undermined human rights in the US and around the world.

“From women’s rights and reproductive freedom to immigrants’ rights, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights, and risks to environmental progress, people are experiencing diminished rights and much remains at stake,” the NGO said.

“The current Trump administration has doubled-down on it rights-abusing first-term record, its embrace of white supremacist supporters and ideology, the extreme antidemocratic and anti-rights policies enacted, the mass raids, detention, and deportation of thousands of immigrants, including some citizens, and elimination of government accountability and transparency, plus weaponisation of government against political opponents,” HRW said.

Jewish refugee agency HIAS says it is appalled at the announcement of new travel restrictions for individuals from 19 countries.

“This policy is similar to the Muslim Ban in the first Trump administration, in its restriction on lawful travel to the United States for millions of people because of their nationality. HIAS strongly opposed the travel ban in the first Trump administration, advocating in the courts and to elected officials, and will oppose it as stridently today,” the agency said in a statement. 

“Tonight’s announcement marks another blow to the basic rule of law in this country. To suggest that banning individuals from entering the United States, simply based on their country of origin, will somehow keep us safer is absurd”, said Naomi Steinberg, HIAS vice president of US Policy and Advocacy.