Trump expands travel ban to 20 new countries News
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Trump expands travel ban to 20 new countries

US President Donald Trump issued a presidential proclamation on Tuesday expanding his existing travel ban by 20 additional countries. The ban restricts the entry of nationals from certain designated countries while imposing partial restrictions on others.

The proclamation fully prevents nationals from five new countries from entering the US: Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan and Syria, as well individuals with Palestinian travel documents. It also imposes partial restrictions on 15 new countries, including Senegal and Zimbabwe, limiting the issuance of certain categories of visas. According to the proclamation, these measures target countries with “demonstrated, persistent, and severe deficiencies in screening, vetting, and information-sharing to protect the Nation from national security and public safety threats.”

Each country-specific designation is accompanied by a justification, citing factors such as the presence of terrorist organizations in the country or high visa overstay rates. Limited exceptions apply, including for lawful permanent residents and certain existing visa holders.

This expansion builds on the travel ban issued by President Trump in June under Proclamation 10949, which applied to 19 countries. That proclamation followed Trump’s Executive Order 14161, which directed various cabinet heads to assess countries with inadequate vetting and screening practices to determine whether restrictions were warranted under the Immigration and Nationality Act. The Act authorizes the president to deny entry to foreign nationals when their admission “would be detrimental to the interests of the United States” or when an individual engages in fraudulent activity.

Critics of the expansion are concerned that the ban does not contain an exception for individuals seeking special immigrant visas, particularly Afghans who assisted the US during its military operations in Afghanistan. The initial ban also faced criticism for targeting a predominantly Muslim-majority and African countries, echoing Trump’s first-term travel ban that denied entry to nationals from seven Muslim-majority states.

The latest expansion follows a November shooting in Washington D.C., in which Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan national, opened fire on National Guard members, killing one an injuring another. The administration responded by announcing stricter immigration measures, including the suspension of asylum and other immigration applications.

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