Trump Expands Travel Ban with Five More Countries and New Limits
Trump Expands Travel Ban with Five More Countries and New Limits
The administration widens the travel ban to include over 30 countries, adds Syria and Zimbabwe, and tightens rules for Palestinian documents.
The Trump administration announced an expansion of the travel ban to include five more countries and to tighten restrictions on others, as part of ongoing efforts to sharpen U.S. entry standards. The move came on Tuesday, December 16, 2025, and follows the arrest of an Afghan national suspect in the Thanksgiving weekend shooting of two National Guard troops. The expansion marks a step in the administration's continued push to redefine who may enter the United States.
Officials said the ban will now cover Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan, and Syria, pushing the overall slate of restricted or banned countries to more than 30. In addition, 15 more countries will face partial restrictions: Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Cote d'Ivoire, Dominica, Gabon, Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
In a separate move, the administration fully restricted travel for people holding Palestinian-Authority-issued travel documents. The policy also paused all immigration applications from 19 non-European countries, including Afghanistan, as part of the tightened screening process.
Together, these steps reflect a renewed emphasis on security and entry controls, continuing the trajectory set during the previous administration and signaling that the U.S. will closely scrutinize travelers from a broader list of nations. The practical impact will depend on how consulates and border agencies implement the new rules and how exemptions are managed for humanitarian cases, families, and essential staff.
