President Donald Trump has doubled the number of nations impacted by his broad travel ban.
Individuals with passports from an extra 20 countries and the Palestinian Authority will face restrictions or limitations on traveling to the United States, the Trump Administration revealed on Tuesday. Nationals from 19 countries already had entry restrictions to the U.S. under a June announcement. The effective date of the new restrictions remains unclear.
This action follows Trump’s indication that he would further restrict immigration to the U.S. after the arrest of an Afghan national linked to an incident on the eve of Thanksgiving, which resulted in one fatality. The suspect has pleaded not guilty to murder and assault charges.
The Trump Administration introduced a series of measures to curb immigration in the aftermath of the incident, including declaring it would “permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries,” “remove anyone who is not a net asset to the United States,” “end all Federal benefits and subsidies to noncitizens of our Country, denaturalize migrants who undermine domestic tranquility, and deport any Foreign National who is a public charge, security risk, or non-compatible with Western Civilization.” The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services stated it would review the immigration statuses of lawful permanent residents and green card holders already in the U.S. from the 19 countries restricted in June.
Immigrant advocacy groups have condemned the move as an unjust effort to use national security as a pretext to advance Trump’s agenda.
“Blanket travel bans targeting entire nationalities or visa categories do not enhance U.S. security,” NAFSA: Association of International Educators stated. “In reality, they have the opposite effect. They weaken us.”
Here’s what to understand about the new restrictions.
What does the new order state?
The proclamation prohibits citizens of five countries—Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan, and Syria—from entering the U.S., and fully restricts entry for holders of passports issued by the Palestinian Authority.
The Palestinian Authority (PA) has been issuing passports, with Israeli approval required, since 1995. Palestinians already encountered substantial restrictions on entering the U.S. following actions by the Trump Administration in August—covering medical treatment, business, work, tourism, or education—for those with a PA passport. Earlier that month, the Administration began revoking and denying visas for Palestinian officials ahead of the September U.N. General Assembly meeting and halted the issuance of visitor visas to Palestinians from Gaza, including those seeking humanitarian and medical treatment.
The Trump Administration cited “U.S.-designated terrorist groups operating actively in the West Bank or Gaza Strip, which have killed American citizens” as the rationale for the move. It comes after Trump secured a fragile cease-fire between Israel and Hamas to end a two-year bombardment of Gaza, which includes provisions for Hamas’ dismantlement and the end of Israel’s occupation of the territory.
Fifteen additional countries face partial restrictions: Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, the Ivory Coast, Dominica, Gabon, Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
The Trump Administration also moved to fully restrict nationals from Laos and Sierra Leone, which had faced partial restrictions in June. In June, Trump reinstated his signature first-term travel ban, barring nationals of 12 countries from entering the U.S.: Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. It also partially restricted entry for nationals from seven other countries: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.
The restrictions apply to those seeking both U.S. immigrant and nonimmigrant visas—meaning anyone looking to emigrate to the U.S. or simply visit. Existing visa holders, U.S. permanent residents, and applicants for certain visa categories (including diplomats and athletes) are exempt from the new restrictions.
The Trump Administration adjusted the partial restrictions for Turkmenistan nationals, noting the country “has engaged constructively with the United States and shown significant progress in improving its identity-management and information-sharing procedures.” The proclamation lifted restrictions on nonimmigrant visas for Turkmenistan nationals, though immigrant entry remains suspended.
The countries affected by the ban were selected due to “persistent, chronic vetting deficiencies” among citizens seeking to travel to the U.S., according to the Administration, including “poor civil documentation and recordkeeping practices, widespread corruption and fraud, unreliable or inaccessible criminal records, and unreliable government travel documents.” The Trump Administration also cited high rates of visa overstays as a policy rationale, as well as blaming governments that have historically refused to repatriate citizens the U.S. sought to deport.
NAFSA noted that visa overstay rates are “known to be deeply flawed” and using them as a basis for immigration policy is “misleading.”
How else has the Trump Administration tightened immigration?
This move escalates the Trump Administration’s ongoing efforts to tighten U.S. immigration. Days before an attack on the National Guard in D.C., the Administration announced it would [action] all refugees admitted under the Biden Administration. It also sought to [action] certain lawful immigrants’ access to housing programs and [action] giving immigration officers discretion to deny permanent residency to lawful immigrants who have used Medicaid and other safety net programs.
The Administration has [action] thousands of both legal and undocumented immigrants for [reason] this year, [action] based on what it deemed divisive speech, and [action] for U.S. citizenship applicants to “root out anti-Americanism.” It has also increased scrutiny of [group] and [group].
Critics have warned that Trump’s anti-immigration actions could cost the U.S. both [asset] and its global influence, particularly as rival China has [action] to more [group] and sought to [action] as a potential global leader.
“Relying on travel bans as a shield instead of trusting the strength of U.S. vetting protocols amounts to a retreat from global engagement,” NAFSA stated. “Our isolationism will create a vacuum that other ambitious nations will readily fill.”