By Felicia J. Persaud
NEWS AMERICAS, NEW YORK, NY, Fri. June 13, 2025: June marks both Caribbean American Heritage Month and Black Music Month in the U.S., but for many Black immigrants, the month continues with another harsh blow – a proclamation by Donald Trump effectively fulfilling his long-held goal of banning immigrants from nations he once crudely labeled as “S-hole” countries.
Back in 2018, Trump’s disparaging remarks about Haiti and African nations drew global outrage. Fast-forward to today, and his administration has formalized those sentiments into policy. Less than six months into his presidency, a sweeping immigration proclamation now bars entry from a list of predominantly Black and brown nations – including Haiti, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Sudan, Somalia, and Libya. Also added were Iran, Burma, and Yemen. A partial ban was slapped on Burundi, Sierra Leone, Cuba, Togo, Turkmenistan, Laos, and Venezuela.
Notably, no European countries were included – a fact that raises serious questions about the policy’s intent and fairness.
One can only imagine how Haitian Americans who supported Trump are feeling now. And what about the Cuban and Venezuelan voters in Miami who helped secure his win? The implications are now at their doorstep.
According to the Department of Homeland Security’s 2023 data, the rationale for the bans centers on visa overstays, refusals to repatriate deportees, and national security claims. Yet the data tells a different story. While 27,269 Haitians overstayed their B1/B2 visas, 20,029 Spaniards did the same – and Spain is not on any banned list. Chad had 377 overstays; the Congo, 285 – while the United Kingdom racked up 15,712. Still, there is no ban for the UK.
The numbers continue to highlight the disparity: Eritrea had 134 overstays, South Sudan just 6, Somalia 14, and Libya 57. Meanwhile, Australia logged 3,218, France 9,182, Italy 8,161, Germany 5,984, and Portugal 3,854 – none of which resulted in bans.
Further comparison shows Iran had 129 overstays, Burma 543, and Yemen 205. That’s still lower than the 2,469 from the Netherlands. Burundi saw 124 overstays, Sierra Leone 67, and Cuba 233 – all lower than Norway’s 424. And yet, Trump once publicly wished for more immigrants from Norway.
Togo, now partially banned, reported only 75 overstays. Turkmenistan had 142, Laos 660 – still fewer than New Zealand’s 828 or Poland’s 1,914. Venezuela had a high number – 21,513 – but is only partially banned.
The reality is that nationals from Haiti and many African countries already face significant obstacles in obtaining U.S. visas. Their total numbers are small, and the overstays reflect that. In contrast, numerous European nations have far higher overstay rates – and yet remain untouched.
The facts speak for themselves. Trump has turned his 2018 remarks into policy, reinforcing a vision to reshape America’s immigration system in starkly racial terms – not to make America great again, but to make America white again.
Felicia J. Persaud is the publisher of NewsAmericasNow.com, a daily news outlet focused on positive news about Black immigrant communities from the Caribbean and Latin America.
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