U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday expanded the list of countries facing travel restrictions, the latest move by the administration to ramp up immigration controls following the shooting of two National Guard troops last month.The White House said in a fact sheet that Trump imposed sweeping restrictions and entry controls on Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan and Syria, as well as "individuals holding travel documents issued by the Palestinian Authority." This move is in addition to the original 12 countries that were subject to full restrictions and 7 countries that were subject to partial restrictions.
Trump maintains entry bans on 12 countries deemed "high-risk": Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
Laos and Sierra Leone, two countries already facing partial travel restrictions, will now also face full bans.
According to the White House, the United States has also added partial entry restrictions to 15 additional countries: Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Côte d'Ivoire, Dominica, Gabon, Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Countries such as Burundi, Cuba, Togo and Venezuela remain on the list of those facing some, but not all, entry restrictions.
Some travel restrictions previously imposed on Turkmenistan were eased in Tuesday's announcement. The United States has lifted its ban on Turkmenistan’s non-immigrant visas, but still prohibits Turkmen citizens from entering the country as immigrants.
The White House said in a fact sheet that the country "has engaged in productive engagement with the United States and has made significant progress since the last announcement."
After a shooting in November that left one National Guard member dead and another in critical condition, Trump took a series of measures to restrict immigration into the United States. Federal authorities identified the suspect as an Afghan citizen who arrived in the United States in 2021.
The United States, Canada and Mexico are about to jointly host the World Cup, and strict visa policies have raised concerns about fans traveling to the United States. Trump sought to allay those concerns, saying the United States was establishing a priority visa system to facilitate travel arrangements for ticket holders.
Some countries that have qualified are facing restrictions from Trump's policies, including Iran, Haiti and Senegal.