President Donald Trump has expanded his travel ban to the United States, barring entry to the United States for citizens of five additional countries and for people traveling with documents issued by the Palestinian Authority.
The White House said the restrictions were intended to “protect the security of the United States” and will take effect on January 1.
Full entry restrictions will be imposed on people from Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan and Syria, as well as Palestinian Authority passport holders.
The administration also moved Laos and Sierra Leone, which were previously subject to partial restrictions, to the full ban list and imposed partial restrictions on 15 other countries, including Nigeria, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.
Trump, who has tightened immigration controls since returning to the White House in January, said the expansion of the travel ban was necessary because of what his administration described as failures in screening and vetting systems abroad.
Officials cited high visa overstay rates, unreliable civil registries, corruption, terrorist activity and a lack of cooperation in accepting deported nationals.
The announcement followed the arrest of an Afghan national suspected of shooting two National Guard soldiers over Thanksgiving weekend, an incident the White House flagged to highlight its security concerns.
This is the third time Trump has imposed a travel ban.
During his first term, he introduced a similar order in 2017, which sparked protests and legal challenges at home and abroad. The policy was later upheld by the United States Supreme Court.
The White House said the restrictions would remain in place until affected countries show “credible improvements” in identity management, information sharing and cooperation with US immigration authorities.
A number of exceptions apply and the ban will not affect legal permanent residents, many visa holders, diplomats or athletes traveling for major sporting events. Officials said case-by-case exemptions would also be available when travel is deemed to be in the national interest.
Countries with total restrictions:
- Afghanistan
- Burkina Faso
- Burma
- Chad
- Equatorial Guinea
- Eritrea
- Haiti
- Iran
- Laos
- Libya
- Mali
- Niger
- Republic of the Congo
- Sierra Leone
- Somalia
- South Sudan
- Sudan
- Syria
- Yemen
- Persons traveling with travel documents issued or visad by the Palestinian Authority are also subject to a complete suspension of entry.
Partial restrictions:
- Angola
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Benin
- Burundi
- Ivory Coast
- Cuba
- Dominican Republic
- Gabon
- Gambia
- Malawi
- Mauritania
- Nigeria
- Senegal
- Tanzania
- Go
- Tonga
- Venezuela
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
Special case:
- Turkmenistan (restrictions remain for immigrants, but have been lifted for non-immigrant visas)
