In a significant escalation of its immigration policy, the Trump administration has substantially widened the scope of countries facing entry restrictions into the United States. President Donald Trump formalized this expansion through a presidential proclamation on Tuesday, December 16, 2025, set to take effect on January 1, 2026.
The White House justified the move as a necessary measure to bolster national security, targeting nations identified as having “demonstrated, persistent, and severe deficiencies” in their screening, vetting, and information-sharing protocols. This policy overhaul represents the most substantial revision since the initial travel restrictions were implemented in June 2025, which affected 19 countries through full or partial bans.
The updated framework introduces sweeping changes. Five additional nations—Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan, and Syria—now face comprehensive entry restrictions. Furthermore, the administration has imposed full bans on all individuals holding travel documents issued by the Palestinian Authority.
Notably, two countries previously under partial restrictions, Laos and Sierra Leone, have been elevated to the full restrictions list. Concurrently, partial entry limitations have been extended to citizens from 15 new countries: Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Dominica, Gabon, The Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
The administration maintains partial restrictions on four nations from the original list: Burundi, Cuba, Togo, and Venezuela. While Turkmenistan sees a relaxation for nonimmigrant visas, its suspension on immigrant visas remains in force.
This policy expansion occurs against a backdrop of heightened security concerns. The White House cited a recent Thanksgiving week shooting incident in Washington DC, involving a 29-year-old Afghan asylum recipient, as illustrative of the threats prompting these enhanced measures. These actions align with parallel initiatives by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which last month initiated renewed reviews of green card holders from 19 designated “countries of concern.”
President Trump had previously signaled this policy direction through social media, advocating for the permanent suspension of immigration from what he termed “Third World countries.” The State Department has concurrently announced a suspension of visa issuances to holders of Afghan passports.
Media analysis suggests the administration has strategically utilized politically sensitive moments to advance its immigration agenda. The initial travel ban in June was announced shortly after an attack in Boulder, Colorado, perpetrated by an Egyptian national who had entered on a visa.