US extends travel ban to seven more countries, tightens curbs on 39 nations citing national security
PTC News Desk: US President Donald Trump has signed a proclamation expanding America’s travel ban and entry restrictions, citing concerns over national security, public safety, inadequate vetting systems and high visa overstay rates. The order adds 20 more countries and Palestinians to the existing list, taking the total number of affected nations to 39. According to a White House fact sheet, a complete travel ban has been imposed on Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan and Syria, as well as on Palestinians holding travel documents issued by the Palestinian Authority. Laos and Sierra Leone, which earlier faced partial restrictions, have now been placed under a full ban. The expanded measures will come into force on January 1.
The announcement follows remarks made two weeks earlier by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who said the administration was planning to broaden the travel ban beyond 19 countries, though she did not specify the final number or name the countries at the time.
The US had already barred travel from 12 countries, including Afghanistan, Iran, Libya and Yemen. The latest decision signals a tougher stance on immigration after the November 26 killing of two National Guard members in Washington, DC. The attacker, an Afghan national who had previously worked with a CIA-linked unit, entered the US after the 2021 troop withdrawal from Afghanistan and was granted asylum earlier this year following vetting. The administration has cited this case as justification for stricter immigration controls. The move also comes after an Islamic State ambush in Syria on December 13 that killed two US soldiers and an American civilian interpreter.
Under the new proclamation, partial entry restrictions have been imposed on 15 additional countries — Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Dominica, Gabon, The Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Partial restrictions will remain in place for nationals of Burundi, Cuba, Togo and Venezuela.
Turkmenistan is the only country to receive some relief, as the order lifts restrictions on non-immigrant visas for its nationals.
- PTC NEWS
