US President Donald Trump signed a proclamation imposing a complete travel ban on seven additional countries and Palestinians, alongside entry restrictions on 15 others, citing concerns over national security, public safety, inadequate vetting processes, and elevated visa overstay rates. This addition brings 20 more countries into the framework, expanding the total number of nations subject to travel bans or entry restrictions to 39.
A White House fact-sheet detailed that the new proclamation applies a full travel ban to five countries: Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan, and Syria. Individuals holding Palestinian Authority-issued travel documents (Palestinians to be precise) are also encompassed in this category. In addition, the proclamation enforces a complete travel ban on Laos and Sierra Leone, both of which had previously faced only partial entry restrictions.
The broadened ban and associated restrictions are scheduled to become effective on January 1.
This development follows an announcement made two weeks earlier by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who indicated that the Trump administration intended to extend the existing travel ban from 19 countries to more than 30. At that point, she did not specify the precise number or identify the countries involved.
The United States currently maintains travel bans on 12 countries: Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.
The recent action by the Trump administration represents a significant intensification of its immigration enforcement efforts, coming in the wake of the November 26 killing of two National Guard members in Washington DC. The perpetrator, an Afghan national who had previously collaborated with a CIA-linked unit, arrived in the US following the 2021 withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan and received asylum earlier this year after undergoing vetting. The administration has cited this incident to advocate for more stringent immigration measures.
Additionally, the decision follows the December 13 deaths of two US soldiers and an American civilian interpreter in an Islamic State ambush attack in Syria.
PARTIAL ENTRY RESTRICTIONS ON 15 NEW NATIONS
The latest proclamation introduced partial restrictions on 15 more countries – Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Cte d’Ivoire, Dominica, Gabon, The Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Partial entry restrictions will continue for nationals of Burundi, Cuba, Togo and Venezuela.
Turkmenistan is the sole country to see a partial easing under the new order. The proclamation has lifted restrictions on non-immigrant visas for Turkmenistan nationals.
