President Donald Trump has announced an expansion of US travel restrictions, adding five countries to a full entry ban and imposing partial restrictions on 15 others.
The White House said the measures were designed “to protect the security of the United States” and will take effect on January 1.
Nationals from Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan and Syria will face full entry restrictions, alongside people travelling on Palestinian Authority-issued documents.
Laos and Sierra Leone, which previously had partial restrictions, have been moved to the full ban list. Partial restrictions will apply to 15 countries, including Nigeria, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.
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Trump, who has strengthened immigration controls since his return to the White House in January, said the travel ban was necessary due to what his administration described as failures in screening and vetting systems in other countries.
Officials cited high visa overstay rates, unreliable civil records, corruption, terrorist activity and a lack of cooperation in accepting deported nationals as reasons for the restrictions.
The announcement came after the arrest of an Afghan national suspected of shooting two National Guard troops over the Thanksgiving weekend. The White House pointed to this incident when highlighting its security concerns.
This marks the third time Trump has imposed a travel ban. During his first term in 2017, he introduced a similar order that sparked protests and legal challenges both in the US and internationally. The US Supreme Court later upheld the policy.
The White House said the restrictions would remain until affected countries show “credible improvements” in identity management, information-sharing and cooperation with US immigration authorities.
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The ban will not affect lawful permanent residents, many existing visa holders, diplomats or athletes travelling for major sporting events. Officials said case-by-case waivers would be available where travel is deemed to be in the national interest.
Countries with full restrictions include:
- 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
Individuals travelling on Palestinian Authority-issued or endorsed travel documents are also subject to a full suspension of entry.
Countries with partial restrictions include Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Burundi, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, Dominica, Gabon, The Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Togo, Tonga, Venezuela, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Turkmenistan represents a special case, with restrictions remaining for immigrants but lifted for non-immigrant visas.
