Human rights groups condemn Trump’s ‘racist’ and ‘cruel’ travel ban – live

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China's Xi and Trump hold call at White House's request, Chinese state media reports

Chinese president Xi Jinping and Donald Trump have held their much-anticipated phone call this morning, the official Xinhua state news agency reports.

It is the first known call between the leaders to take place during Trump’s second term, since they spoke in January ahead of Trump’s inauguration.

Chinese state media said the call took place at the White House’s request. No other information was immediately made public. The Chinese foreign ministry said this morning that the call was ongoing as of 9am ET.

Johnson to try to speak to Musk again over billionaire's escalating GOP megabill row - Bloomberg

Bloomberg is reporting that the House speaker, Mike Johnson, has once again reached out to Elon Musk by text and plans to speak with him today to talk through his opposition to the GOP tax- and spending-cut megabill, over which the billionaire appears “dug in”.

“JOHNSON on @BloombergTV says he has texted with @elonmusk and plans convo today. Musk appears ‘Dug in’ in opposition to bill, [Johnson] said. Johnson says bill will be ‘jet fuel’ for economy and deficit concerns are misplaced,” according to Bloomberg.

Musk’s relentless attacks on the bill, which is currently under consideration in the Senate and is supposed to be the second Trump administration’s flagship legislation, escalated significantly yesterday, with Politico noting that he dropped no less than 32 hostile posts on his X platform in the hours before Trump took to the stage at a White House lawn event. In one post he said the bill would put America “in the fast lane to debt slavery”.

Yesterday Johnson admitted publicly that Trump was “not delighted” by Musk’s “180” on his “big, beautiful bill”, though the president has not weighed in publicly himself. And yesterday Politico reported that Republicans close to the White House were keen to reframe Musk’s criticisms of the bill as rooted in his own self-interest due to the bill’s impact on his business interests, notably Tesla.

The tech billionaire lambasted the bill as a “disgusting abomination” on Tuesday, a day after Johnson had spent half an hour trying to convince Musk that the bill would, in the long term, make the government more effective. Johnson said that conversation ended “on a great note” and so he was “surprised” when Musk “24 hours later, he does a 180 and he comes out as opposed to the bill”. Johnson said he had tried to call Musk on Tuesday but he didn’t answer.

In his tirade against the bill on Tuesday, Musk called it “outrageous” and “pork-filled” due to its effects on increasing the federal deficit. It marked a significant escalation in language, as in previous comments to CBS News he had said he was “disappointed” by the bill and said it would “undermine” the federal cost-cutting work of his team at Doge.

Under the travel ban Trump announced last night, the nationals of Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen will be “fully” restricted from entering the US, according to the proclamation. Meanwhile, the entry of nationals of Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela will be partly restricted.

Human Rights First highlights the case of Trump’s targeting of Afghanistan, which “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. Many are at grave risk due to the deteriorating conditions in-country and many have been waiting for years to reunite with loved ones in the United States. The US government has a duty to protect these individuals and the travel ban makes it even harder for them to escape persecution, jeopardizing their lives and the promises made to them by the United States.

Shala Gafary, the managing attorney at Project: Afghan Legal Assistance at Human Rights First, said:

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.

Our country has a duty and moral imperative to honor commitments made to those who risked everything in support of advancing American values.

Human rights groups condemn Trump's 'racist' and 'cruel' travel ban

In a statement condemning the Trump administration’s travel ban, Human Rights First said the ban “disproportionately targets Muslim-majority nations and undermines the United States’ foundational principles of equality under the law”.

It said that “this new iteration of [Trump’s ‘Muslim ban’ from his first term] 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”.

Robyn Barnard, senior director of refugee advocacy at Human Rights First, said the policy was “divisive and racist” and would only serve to “undermine national security and “target those most in need of protection”. She 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.

Amnesty International USA said on X:

President Trump’s new travel ban is discriminatory, racist, and downright cruel. By targeting people based on their nationality, this ban only spreads disinformation and hate.

Democrats decry Trump travel ban as a 'distraction' and say it won't make America safer

Democrats have decried Donald Trump’s travel ban as a “distraction” and say it will not make the United States safer.

Senator Chris Murphy, from Connecticut, said on X yesterday that “it was no coincidence” that Trump announced the ban last night:

Not a coincidence Trump announced his travel ban tonight. He’s trying to distract us from the core story. And the core story is their bill to throw 15 million people off their health care in order to give a $270,000 tax cut to the richest Americans.

Senator Adam Schiff, from California, said “bigotry is not a national security strategy” and the ban would “only further isolate the US” from the rest of the world. He posted on X:

This is Trump’s reckless first term travel ban all over again. Just like before, Trump’s expanded ban on travelers from around the world will not improve our national security and will only further isolate the US from the rest of world [sic]. Bigotry is not a national security strategy.

Senator Ed Markey, from Massachusetts, wrote on X:

Make no mistake: Trump’s latest travel ban will NOT make America safer. We cannot continue to allow the Trump administration to write bigotry and hatred into US immigration policy.

India and the US are holding high-level talks this week, aiming to finalise tariff cuts in sectors such as farm and automobiles as part of an interim deal, two government sources said, with an announcement likely later this month.

A US delegation led by senior officials from the office of the United States trade representative began closed-door, two-day discussions in New Delhi on Thursday with Indian trade officials headed by chief negotiator Rajesh Agrawal, the sources said.

“During the current round of talks, negotiators are discussing tariff cuts on specific sectors including agriculture and autos, and proposed benefits for Indian companies,” one Indian government source, said.

Putin is ready to help Trump on Iran nuclear negotiations, the Kremlin says

President Vladimir Putin told US president Donald Trump that he was ready to use Russia’s close partnership with Iran to help with negotiations over Iran’s nuclear programme, the Kremlin said on Thursday.

Trump said after a phone call with Putin on Wednesday that time was running out for Iran to make a decision on its nuclear programme and that he believed Putin agreed that the Islamic Republic should not have nuclear weapons.

Putin, according to Trump, suggested that he participate in the discussions with Iran and that “he could, perhaps, be helpful in getting this brought to a rapid conclusion”, though Iran was “slow walking”.

“We have close partner relations with Tehran and, naturally, President Putin said that we are ready to use this level of partnership with Tehran in order to facilitate and contribute to the negotiations that are taking place to resolve the issue of the Iranian nuclear dossier,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday.

Asked when Putin could join the negotiations, Peskov said that dialogue with Tehran and Washington continued through various channels.

“The president will be able to get involved when necessary,” Peskov said.

Gabrielle Canon

Donald Trump has ordered an investigation into Joe Biden’s actions as president, alleging top aides masked his predecessor’s “cognitive decline”.

The investigation will build on a Republican-led campaign already under way to discredit the former president and overturn some of his executive actions, including pardons and federal rules issued towards the end of his term in office.

Biden issued a statement dismissing the idea of a cover-up as “ridiculous”. “Let me be clear: I made the decisions during my presidency. I made the decisions about the pardons, executive orders, legislation, and proclamations. Any suggestion that I didn’t is ridiculous and false.”

GOP lawmakers on Wednesday sought testimony from five of Biden’s top aides and advisers, including his first chief of staff, about his “mental and physical faculties”. The House oversight committee headed by the Republican representative James Comer of Kentucky was already speaking to four others, according to reports from CBS News.

A separate inquiry was launched on Tuesday by Ed Martin, a justice department attorney, into clemencies Biden issued in his final days in office to family members as well as death row inmates.

Biden’s cognitive abilities during his presidency have been a Republican talking point for several years and Trump has frequently suggested that some of Biden’s actions are invalid because his aides were usurping presidential authority to cover up what Trump claims is Biden’s cognitive decline.

Donald Trump signed a proclamation to restrict foreign student visas at Harvard University, the White House said on Wednesday.

The order would suspend for an initial six months the entry into the US of foreign nationals seeking to study or participate in exchange programs at Harvard. Trump declared that it would jeopardize national security to allow Harvard to continue hosting foreign students.

The proclamation is the US president’s latest attempt to choke the Ivy League school from an international pipeline that accounts for a quarter of the student body, and a further escalation in the White House’s fight with the institution.

“I have determined that the entry of the class of foreign nationals described above is detrimental to the interests of the United States because, in my judgment, Harvard’s conduct has rendered it an unsuitable destination for foreign students and researchers,” Trump wrote in the order.

Trump’s proclamation also directs the US state department to consider revoking academic or exchange visas of any current Harvard students who meet his proclamation’s criteria.

Harvard in a statement called Trump’s proclamation “yet another illegal retaliatory step taken by the Administration in violation of Harvard’s First Amendment rights.”

“Harvard will continue to protect its international students.”

Hegseth tells Nato meeting US reviewing its 'force posture'

The United States is reviewing its force posture, defense secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday told reporters while in Brussels for a Nato meeting with defense ministers.

“There are reasons why we have troops in certain places, and we respect and understand that. It is also prudent that we review that force posture in real time alongside our allies and workers to make sure it’s right sized”, Hegseth said.

He said that Nato allies are nearing a consensus on committing 5% of GDP to defence spending

Donald Trump’s newly signed travel ban contains an exemption that could apply to players, staff or associated families with clubs participating in the 2025 Club World Cup, 2026 Fifa World Cup or the 2028 Olympics.

The US president has signed a sweeping order banning travel from 12 countries and restricting travel from seven others, reviving and expanding the travel bans from his first term.

The nationals of Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen will be “fully” restricted from entering the US, according to the proclamation. Meanwhile, the entry of nationals of Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela will be partially restricted.

There is an exemption, however, outlined in section 4 of the order, which states that “any athlete or member of an athletic team, including coaches, persons performing a necessary support role, and immediate relatives, traveling for the World Cup, Olympics, or other major sporting event as determined by the secretary of state” are not subject to the ban.

Venezuela has hit back over the Trump administration’s travel ban by warning that the US itself is a dangerous place, while Somalia immediately pledged to work with Washington on security issues.

The mixed responses came after Donald Trump signed a ban targeting 12 countries also including Afghanistan, Iran and Yemen in a revival of one of the most controversial measures from his first term.

“Being in the United States is a great risk for anyone, not just for Venezuelans,” Diosdado Cabello, the interior minister in Caracas, said after the announcement, warning citizens against travel there and describing the US government as fascist. “They persecute our countrymen, our people for no reason.”

Dahir Hassan Abdi, the Somali ambassador to the US, said in a statement: “Somalia values its longstanding relationship with the United States and stands ready to engage in dialogue to address the concerns raised.”

Calls early on Thursday to the spokesperson of Myanmar’s military government were not answered. The foreign ministry of Laos did not immediately respond to a request for comment, Reuters reported.

President Vladimir Putin told US president Donald Trump that he was prepared use the partnership between Russia and Iran to contribute to a settlement of the negotiations over Iran’s nuclear programme, the Kremlin said on Thursday.

Trump has asked Serbia to take US deportees, Bloomberg reports

President Donald Trump’s administration is pushing Serbia and other Balkan countries to take in the migrants deported from the US, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday.

The outlet reported:

The requests to countries in the region are ongoing and part of a broader strategy to find foreign governments willing to receive migrants sent from the US, including some who originally entered under Biden-era protections, according to the people, who requested anonymity because the talks were private.

Joseph Gedeon

Nearly five months into his second term, Donald Trump has announced a new sweeping travel ban that could reshape the US’s borders more dramatically than any policy in modern memory.

The restrictions, revealed through a presidential proclamation on Wednesday, would target citizens from more than a dozen countries – creating a three-tiered system of escalating barriers to entry.

The proclamation represents one of the most ambitious attempts to reshape the US’s approach to global mobility in modern history and potentially affects millions of people coming to the United States for relocation, travel, work or school.

Trump travel ban to 'sow division and vilify communities'

Good morning, and welcome to our blog covering developments in US politics and Donald Trump’s administration. International aid groups and affected countries reacted to the sweeping order banning travel from 12 countries and restricting visitors from seven others, with claims that it will sow division and vilify communities.

The nationals of Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen will be “fully” restricted from entering the US, according to the proclamation. Meanwhile, the entry of nationals of Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela will be partially restricted.

In a video released on social media, Trump tied the new ban to Sunday’s terror attack in Boulder, Colorado, saying it underscored the dangers posed by some visitors who overstay visas. The suspect in the attack is from Egypt, a country that is not on Trump’s restricted list. The Department of Homeland Security says he overstayed a tourist visa.

“This policy is not about national security – it is about sowing division and vilifying communities that are seeking safety and opportunity in the United States,” said Abby Maxman, president of Oxfam America.

Few of the affected countries have so far responded but Somalia immediately pledged to work with the US to address security issues. “Somalia values its longstanding relationship with the United States and stands ready to engage in dialogue to address the concerns raised,” Dahir Hassan Abdi, the Somali ambassador to the United States, said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the Venezuelan interior minister, Diosdado Cabello, a close ally of president Nicolas Maduro, described the US government as fascist and warned Venezuelans of being in the US.

The truth is being in the United States is a big risk for anybody, not just for Venezuelans … They persecute our countrymen, our people for no reason.”

We’ll be covering all the developments in this story and you can read our report here:

In other news:

• Donald Trump has ordered an investigation into Joe Biden’s actions as president, alleging top aides masked his predecessor’s “cognitive decline”. The investigation will build on a Republican-led campaign already under way to discredit the former president. Biden issued a statement dismissing the idea of a cover-up as “ridiculous”.

• German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is set to meet with Trump on Thursday, hoping to build a personal relationship despite discord over Ukraine and the threat of a trade war. The president is due to greet Merz at 11.30am EST.

• Trump is committed to passing his so-called “big beautiful” tax bill in the US Senate despite opposition from billionaire Elon Musk, a White House official said on Wednesday. The official, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, added that the White House will not consult Musk on every policy decision. Estimates say that the bill could add $2.4trn to the deficit. Musk has stepped up attacks on the bill on X, urging supporters to “Call your Senator, Call your Congressman, Bankrupting America is NOT ok! KILL the BILL.”