WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — United States (US) President Donald Trump signed a new travel ban Wednesday targeting 12 countries, saying it was spurred by an attack on a Jewish protest in Colorado that authorities blamed on a man they said was in the country illegally.

The ban, which strongly resembles a similar measure taken in his first presidency, targets nationals of Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.

It will go into effect on June 9, the White House said.

Trump also imposed a partial ban on travellers from seven countries: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela, the White House said.

“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,” Trump said in a video message from the Oval Office posted on X.

“We don’t want them.”

Trump compared the new measures to the “powerful” ban he imposed on a number of mainly Muslim countries in his first term, which he said had stopped the United States suffering attacks that happened in Europe.

“We will not let what happened in Europe happen in America,” Trump said.

“We cannot have open migration from any country where we cannot safely and reliably vet and screen. That is why today I am signing a new executive order placing travel restrictions on countries including Yemen, Somalia, Haiti, Libya, and numerous others.”

Rumours of a new Trump travel ban had circulated following the attack in Colorado, with his administration vowing to pursue “terrorists” living in the US on visas.

Suspect Mohammed Sabry Soliman is alleged to have thrown fire bombs and sprayed burning gasoline at a group of people who had gathered on Sunday in support of Israeli hostages held by Hamas.

US Homeland Security officials said Soliman was in the country illegally, having overstayed a tourist visa, but that he had applied for asylum in September 2022.

“President Trump is fulfilling his promise to protect Americans from dangerous foreign actors that want to come to our country and cause us harm,” White House Deputy Press Secretary Abigail Jackson said on X.

“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.”

Meanwhile, Trump on Wednesday also announced a ban on visas for foreign students who are set to begin attending Harvard University, ramping up his administration’s crackdown on higher education.

“I have determined that it is necessary to restrict the entry of foreign nationals who seek to enter the United States solely or principally to participate in a course of study at Harvard University or in an exchange visitor programme hosted by Harvard University,” Trump said in a statement.