Washington DC - President Donald Trump's sweeping new travel ban came into effect early Monday immediately after midnight, barring citizens from a dozen nations from entering the US.

The move is expected to disrupt refugee pathways as the Trump administration expands its crackdown on immigrants' rights.

It covers nationals of Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Congo-Brazzaville, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.

In announcing his restrictions last week, Trump said the new measure was spurred by a recent "terrorist attack" in Colorado.

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A group had been protesting in solidarity with hostages held in Gaza when they were assaulted by a man the White House said had overstayed his visa. The suspect from Egypt, a country not covered by the travel ban.

Trump also imposed a partial restrictions on travelers from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela. Some temporary work visas from those countries will be allowed.

New countries could be added, Trump warned, "as threats emerge around the world."

Mehria, a 23-year-old woman from Afghanistan who applied for refugee status, said the new rules have trapped her and many other Afghans in uncertainty.

"We gave up thousands of hopes and our entire lives... on a promise from America, but today we are suffering one hell after another," she told AFP.

The US invaded Afghanistan in 2001 and recruited thousands of locals during its occupation, only to leave many of them behind and at risk after the chaotic troop withdrawal of 2021.

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The ban will not apply to athletes competing in the 2026 World Cup, which the US is co-hosting with Canada and Mexico, or in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

Nor will it apply to diplomats from the targeted countries.

UN human rights chief Volker Turk warned that "the broad and sweeping nature of the new travel ban raises concerns from the perspective of international law."

Democratic lawmakers and elected officials blasted the ban as draconian and unconstitutional.

Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal urged the House to pass the No Ban Act, which targets the president's power to issue travel restrictions.

"I know the pain that Trump's cruel and xenophobic travel bans inflict because my family has felt it firsthand," Congresswoman Yassamin Ansari, who is Iranian-American, posted Sunday on X. "We will fight this ban with everything we have."