Trump's Travel Ban A New Chapter in American Imperialism?

Countries Under Trump’s Travel Ban: A Legacy of American Imperialism

The recent revival of travel restrictions by the Trump administration has once again brought into sharp focus a list of countries seemingly connected by nothing more than their shared misfortune. The targeted nations—Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen (under total ban) and Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela (under restrictions)—appear, at first glance, to be a disparate collection.

The stated rationale behind these bans centers on security threats, primarily measured by:

• Significant terrorist presence.
• Visa overstay rates.
• Cooperation with accepting back removable nationals.

While visa overstay rates are cited as demonstrating a "blatant disregard" for U.S. immigration laws, a closer examination reveals a more profound and unsettling truth.

These nations, predominantly located in the global south, share common threads:

• Their citizens are often racialized as Black or brown and Muslim.
• Many grapple with pervasive poverty, affecting half or more of their populations.
• Several have experienced recent social upheavals or devastating wars.

Notably, countries like Yemen, Sudan, Somalia, and Afghanistan feature prominently on the World Food Program’s list of the world’s most severe food crises.

However, attributing these challenges to inherent violence or a disregard for law is a dangerous oversimplification. The data on visa overstays, for instance, fails to account for individuals seeking asylum or temporary protective status due to the instability in their home countries.

The underlying reality is that the poverty and insecurity plaguing these nations are, in large part, a consequence of historical and ongoing imperialism, including U.S. military and economic intervention.

Consider these examples:

• Haiti: The nation's struggles cannot be divorced from the French extortion following their liberation from slavery and the subsequent U.S. occupation.
• Afghanistan: The mass displacement is inextricably linked to the U.S. funding of the Mujahideen and the protracted "war on terror."
• Iran: The current regime's existence is rooted in U.S. support for British efforts to undermine Iranian democracy for the benefit of British Petroleum.

Yemenis negotiate at a livestock market in Sanaa on 3 June in preparation for the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday. Photograph: Mohammed Huwais/AFP via Getty Images

U.S. sanctions, whether in Iran, Venezuela, or Cuba, have primarily led to economic devastation and mass displacement, rather than regime change. The human cost is undeniable; American-made shrapnel has been found in the bodies of Yemeni children, and U.S. strikes have resulted in numerous casualties, including detained African migrants.

African nations, such as oil-rich Equatorial Guinea and Chad (ravaged by companies like Exxon Mobile) and gold-rich Sudan, are not inherently impoverished but are victims of systemic theft. The United Nations estimates that a staggering $86 billion is siphoned out of the continent annually through illicit financial flows and tax evasion.

Furthermore, between 1970 and 2022, countries in the global south have paid over $2.5 trillion in interest alone to the global north, a point poignantly captured by former Burkina Faso President Thomas Sankara, who described debt as a "skillfully managed reconquest of Africa."

Adding to this injustice, the world’s wealthiest nations are the primary drivers of the climate crisis, while the poorest nations bear the brunt of its consequences. Climate activists estimate that governments in the global north owe $5 trillion annually to countries in the global south for the devastation they are causing.

Against this backdrop, Trump’s travel ban emerges as a cruel escalation of a long-standing policy of exploiting and discarding vulnerable Black and brown lives. It is a policy rooted in a desire to "Make America white again," as evidenced by the ban on asylum and the cancellation of humanitarian parole.

The true threat to the security of the United States does not come from the people of these nations. Rather, it stems from the historical and ongoing exploitation, destruction, and denial of participation in the safety and prosperity built at their expense.

It is time for atonement, not exacerbation. We must recognize our shared history and work towards a future of justice and equity.

Tags: Trump ban, banned countries, security threats, visa overstays, immigration laws, Afghanistan, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Yemen, American imperialism, global south

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/06/trump-travel-ban-imperialism