U.S. Expands Travel Ban to 19 More Countries

The Trump administration on Tuesday said it will expand travel restrictions to an additional 19 countries, increasing the list of nations and territories with full or partial travel and emigration bans in effect. 

President Donald Trump signed a proclamation that restricts and limits the entry of nationals from Laos, Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan and Syria. Laos and Sierra Leone had previously been subject to partial restrictions.

The expanded list also includes 15 new countries facing partial restrictions: Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Dominica, Gabon, The Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

There are now travel limitations on individuals holding Palestinian Authority-issued travel documents, while the proclamation also lifted a ban on nonimmigrant visas for citizens of Turkmenistan, while still maintaining suspended entry for Turkmen nationals.

The previous list includes travel bans to and from Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.

People who already have visas, are lawful permanent residents of the U.S. or have certain visa categories such as diplomats or athletes, or whose entry into the country is believed to serve the U.S. interest, are exempt from the restrictions. The proclamation said the changes go into effect on Jan. 1, 2026.

The proclamation said that some countries on the list exhibit "inadequacies in screening, vetting and provision of information," which leads to "deficient screening and vetting information to protect the national security and public safety of the United States and its people."

An estimated 420,000 New Yorkers come from the listed countries and stand to be impacted by the travel ban, according to the New York Immigration Coalition. 

This new proclamation discriminates against African and Muslim-majority countries, and doubles down on recent policy pronouncements that end most humanitarian protections for refugees and other immigrants, the coalition said.

"This discriminatory proclamation, the largest race- and religion-based ban on immigration in contemporary U.S. history, continues the Trump Administration’s unjust assault on immigrant communities," said Murad Awawdeh, president and chief executive officer of NYIC. "By expanding the travel ban, the administration is slamming the door on vulnerable people in a way that is certain to cause widespread harm, including prolonged family separation."

Awawdeh said students will be denied from pursuing their education, workers will be blocked from contributing to the economy, and families will be forced to remain separated across borders.

"This racist policy sends the message that some lives are more valuable to America based on race, religion, or nationality," he said.