US adds 20 more countries to travel ban, restrictions list
The Trump administration has expanded its travel ban and restrictions to 20 additional nations as well as the Palestinian Authority as part of its efforts to “protect US national security and public safety interests”.
US President Donald Trump signed a proclamation on Tuesday expanding and strengthening entry restrictions on nationals from countries with “demonstrated, persistent, and severe deficiencies” in screening, vetting, and information-sharing to protect America from national security and public safety threats.
The proclamation said these measures are necessary to prevent the entry of foreign nationals about whom the US “lacks sufficient information to assess the risks they pose, garner cooperation from foreign Governments, enforce our immigration laws, and advance other important foreign policy, national security, and counterterrorism objectives.”
It imposed partial restrictions and entry limitations on 15 additional countries —Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Dominica, Gabon, The Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Full restrictions and entry limitations were also imposed for nationals of Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan, and Syria.
Full restrictions and entry limitations have also been placed on individuals holding Palestinian Authority-issued travel documents, as several “US-designated terrorist groups operate actively in the West Bank or Gaza Strip and have murdered American citizens,” it said, adding that the recent war in these areas likely resulted in compromised vetting and screening abilities.
“Considering the weak or nonexistent control exercised over these areas by the PA (Palestinian Authority), individuals attempting to travel on PA-issued or endorsed travel documents cannot currently be properly vetted and approved for entry into the United States.”
The proclamation also imposed full restrictions and entry limitations on Laos and Sierra Leone that were previously subject to partial restrictions, and continued partial restrictions on nationals from Burundi, Cuba, Togo, and Venezuela. The entry of nationals from additional countries must be restricted or limited to protect US national security and public safety interests, the proclamation said.
It continues full restrictions and entry limitations of nationals from the original “12 high-risk countries named by the Trump administration — Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.” Exceptions for lawful permanent residents, existing visa holders, certain visa categories like athletes and diplomats, and individuals “whose entry serves US national interests” are included in the proclamation, it said. The proclamation said that many of the restricted countries systematically prevent accurate vetting, while some countries’ high visa-overstay rates and refusal to repatriate removable nationals “demonstrate disregard for US immigration laws and burden American enforcement resources.”
It said that “terrorist presence, criminal activity, and extremist activity in several listed countries result in a general lack of stability and government control, which causes deficient vetting capabilities and poses direct risks to American citizens and interests when nationals from these countries are admitted to the US.”
The Trump administration has intensified its crackdown on immigration, both legal and illegal, in the wake of the shooting of two National Guard troops late last month by an Afghan national who had arrived in the US through a Biden-era immigration programme for Afghan nationals fleeing their country after the August 2021 Taliban takeover.
Following the shooting, the Trump administration paused with immediate effect Green Card, US citizenship and other immigration applications from immigrants hailing from 19 “countries of concern”. These were the same countries that were subject to a travel ban announced by Trump in a proclamation issued in June this year.
