Human rights groups have slammed Donald Trump for his latest travel ban after the president slapped new restrictions on citizens from North Korea, Chad and Venezuela.
The proclamation by Trump yesterday means that eight countries are now on the United States’ travel ban list, joining five previously-restricted Muslim-majority countries.
The president’s first two travel orders sparked widespread condemnation and protests, as well as an on-going legal challenge.
But Naureen Shah, senior campaigns director for Amnesty International USA, said that previous outragous should not mean that people now stand for “yet another version of government-sanctioned discrimination”.
“Since this ban was implemented 10 months ago, we’ve seen families torn apart and whole nations of people demonised for the crimes of a few,” she said.
“The order was a catastrophe not just for those seeking safety but for those who simply want to travel, work, or study in the United States. Today’s action neither relieves this tension nor keeps anyone safe.”
Shah continued: “It is senseless and cruel to ban whole nationalities of people who are often fleeing the very same violence that the US government wishes to keep out.
“At a time when the entire world is facing the largest refugee crisis since World War II, the US government should not be taking actions that may encourage other countries to institute even more sweeping bans on top of already onerous vetting processes that will slam more doors on desperate people seeking safety.”
HuffPost UK has taken a look at what life is like for some of the ordinary citizens Donald Trump just banned from the US.
North Korea
Entry to the US for North Korean nationals as immigrants and non-immigrants has been suspended.
According to the NGO Human Rights Watch, abuses in North Korea are “without parallel in the contemporary world”, with all basic freedoms severely restricted under leader Kim-Jong Un.
There is no independent media, functioning civil society, or religious freedom. The death penalty is still in place.
Amnesty International estimates that up to 120,000 people are currently detained in political prisoner camps in North Korea, where they are subjected to forced labour, torture and starvation.
It is believed that many of these prisoners are being held because they are “guilty-by-association” - they are simply related to someone the state deems to be a threat.
Syria
Entry to the US for Syrian nationals as immigrants and non-immigrants has been suspended.
As armed conflict continues to ravage Syria, citizens have been subject to serious human rights abuses, including unlawful detention, torture and execution.
Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and injured by artillery fire and aerial bombing, while both government forces and Islamic State have been accused of using chemical agents.
The situation has been dubbed the biggest humanitarian crisis of our time.
According to humanitarian charity World Vision, more than 5.1 million Syrians have fled the country as refugees, while 6.3 million have been displaced within their own country. Half of those affected are children.
Thousands of women and girls have been also been subject to sexual slavery and other forms of horrific abuse.
Chad
Entry to the US for nationals from Chad as immigrants and as non-immigrants on business or tourist visas has been suspended.
The African nation of Chad has been ravaged by the militant Islamist group Boko Haram, who have killed hundreds of people in the country since 2015 and displaced thousands more.
Human Rights Watch estimates that between these attacks and security operations by the Chadian military, around 105,000 people have been internally displaced - many of whom are now living in dire conditions, with extremely limited access to water and sanitation.
Meanwhile, presidential elections in April 2016 took place against a backdrop of “restrictions on free excessive or unnecessary use of force against peaceful demonstrators, and enforced disappearances”.
According to the World Food Programme, Chad also has one of the highest levels of hunger in the world, with 87% of the population living below the poverty line. Around 12% of children experience stunted growth because of chronic malnutrition.
The death penalty is still in place in Chad.
Libya
Entry to the US for Libyan nationals as immigrants and as non-immigrants on business or tourist visas has been suspended.
In the power-vacuum left after Nato-backed forces overthrew long-serving leader Colonel Gaddafi, Libya has been ripped apart while rival governments fight for power.
Thousands of people have been displaced as armed groups - including Islamic State - carry out indiscriminate and direct attacks, abducting, detaining and killing civilians.
Amnesty International reports that in the absence of a functioning justice system torture is rife, while thousands of people have been detained without trial.
Many civilians have been left without access to food, healthcare, clean water, fuel or education. The death penalty remains in law in Libya.
Yemen
Entry to the US for nationals from Yemen as immigrants and as non-immigrants on business or tourist visas has been suspended.
Yemen - one of the poorest countries in the Arab world - has been devastated by a war between Houthi rebels and forces loyal to the internationally-recognised government of President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi.
Between March 2015 and October 2016, more than 3.27 million people were forcibly displaced by the armed conflict, which has seen bomb attacks launched on hospitals, schools, markets and factories.
In June, the UN reported that almost 5,000 civilians had been killed in the conflict since March 2015, while an additional 8,500 had been left injured. Around 80% of the population has been left relying on humanitarian assistance.
According to Amnesty International, the death penalty remains in place for many crimes, while women and girls continue to be subjected to female genital mutilation, forced marriage and sexual violence.
Somalia
Entry to the US for Somalian nationals as immigrants has been suspended, while non-immigrants will be subject to enhanced screening and vetting requirements.
Human Rights Watch says that war crimes have repeatedly been committed as security forces, African Union troops, allied militias and the Islamist armed group Al-Shabab fight for power in Somalia.
In 2016, more than 50,000 civilians were killed, injured or displaced in the conflict, with the homeless population left extremely vulnerable to sexual violence and torture.
According to Amnesty International, armed groups also continue to conscript children to fight for them, while 4.7 million of the country’s 14.3 million population required humanitarian assistance last year.
Freedom of speech has been seriously affected in the conflict, with two journalists being killed in 2016 alone.
Iran
Entry to the US for Iranian nationals as immigrants and non-immigrants has been suspended, except for those with valid student and exchange visitor visas, who will be subject to enhanced screening and vetting requirements.
In Iran, authorities heavily suppress citizens’ rights to freedom of expression, religious belief and peaceful assembly, with critics often arrested and imprisoned after trials before revolutionary courts.
Torture and ill-treatment of prisoners remains widespread, Amnesty International reports, with detainees subjected to floggings and amputations.
Human rights groups believe that as many as 437 people were executed in 2016, with drug charges leading to a great deal of these - some of which were performed in public. At least two of those killed were juvenile offenders.
Homosexual behaviour, adultery and sex outside of marriage are all also considered illegal under Iranian law and can carry the death penalty.
Venezuela
Entry into the US for Venezuelan government officials and their immediate family members as non-immigrants on business or tourist visas has also been suspended.
While it is only government officials who have been banned from travelling to the US, the population of Venezuela still face a great deal of human rights abuses.
According to Human Rights Watch, under the presidency of Nicolás Maduro citizens are regularly intimidated, censored and punished for criticising the government, with reports of police and security forces using excessive force.
Meanwhile, severe shortages of medical supplies and food have intensified since 2014, the organisation said.
Prison overcrowding and violence are also a major issue, while survivors of sexual violence face huge hurdles in getting justice.