Trump expands countries with US travel restrictions

Chris Johnson, CQ-Roll Call on Dec 16, 2025

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WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump added 20 countries to those facing either full or partial travel restrictions Tuesday, in a proclamation that says the U.S. must exercise “extreme vigilance” during the visa and immigration processes for national security.

The proclamation issued Tuesday added five countries and the Palestinian authority to the original 12 countries with full restrictions and entry limitations Trump put in place in June. Those newly added countries are Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan and Syria.

It also imposes full restrictions on Laos and Sierra Leone, which previously had partial restrictions.

The proclamation adds 15 countries to five of the original countries with partial restrictions. The added countries are Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Dominica, Gabon, The Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

In all, the order expands the number countries from 19 to 39. The new bans are set to take effect Jan. 1 and apply only to foreign nationals outside who do not have a valid visa on the effective date of the proclamation.

“The restrictions and limitations imposed by this proclamation are necessary: to garner cooperation from foreign governments, including as to reducing overstay rates of their nationals; enforce our immigration laws; and advance other important foreign policy, national security, and counterterrorism objectives,” Trump wrote.

The proclamation comes in the same month that an Afghan national has been accused of shooting two members of the National Guard who were deployed to the District of Columbia under the Trump’s direction. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said in the aftermath she recommended the expansion of the travel ban to more than 30 countries.

The proclamation justifies the changes in part on the basis that individuals from the countries have a high rate of overstaying their visas. Exemptions identified in the proclamation include lawful permanent residents, certain dual nationals, diplomatic visas, athletes for major events, certain special immigrant visas, and persecuted ethnic and religious minorities from Iran.

However, the proclamation narrows the previously stated exemptions for family-based immigrant visas, such as the carve-outs for spouses, on the basis it carries a demonstrated fraud risk.

“Familial ties can serve — and, in the past, have in fact served, based on concrete information provided by United States law enforcement and the Department of State — as unique vectors for fraudulent, criminal, or even terrorist activity through means such as the domestic or international financing of such activity,” Trump wrote.

The original 12 countries with full travel restrictions are: Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.

The proclamation also continues the partial ban on travel from Burundi, Cuba, Togo and Venezuela, while modifying the existing the partial ban on visitors from Turkmenistan.

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