Trump administration expands travel ban to more countries

The Trump administration expanded its travel ban on December 16, 2025, increasing the number of affected countries from 19 to 39 with full or partial restrictions.​

Full bans now apply to seven new countries: Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan, and Syria, along with Laos and Sierra Leone upgraded from partial status. Partial restrictions cover 15 additional nations, mainly in Africa, including Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Dominica, Gabon, Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.​

The expansion follows a November 2025 shooting of National Guard members by an Afghan national, prompting Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to recommend restrictions on 30-32 countries. It builds on a June 2025 ban targeting 19 nations like Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Eritrea, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Togo, Turkmenistan, Venezuela, and Yemen. The policy takes effect January 1, 2026, impacting immigrants, tourists, students, and others, while exempting some U.S. citizen relatives but not siblings or adult children.​

Over 35 countries now face U.S. entry limits, including those with Palestinian Authority documents. This marks one of the largest expansions since Trump’s initial 2017 bans.