US President Donald Trump on Tuesday (Dec 16) sharply expanded a sweeping travel ban, barring people from seven additional countries — including Syria — as well as holders of Palestinian Authority passports from entering the United States. The move brings the total number of countries whose citizens face full or partial restrictions to nearly 40, marking one of the most extensive nationality-based entry crackdowns in modern US history.
The decision comes as Trump intensifies his hardline immigration agenda during his second term, pairing expanded travel restrictions with mass deportation orders and increasingly strident rhetoric targeting non-white immigrants. In addition to broadening the blacklist, the administration has tightened rules governing routine travel from Western nations, signaling a wider recalibration of US border policy.
In a proclamation issued by the White House, Trump said the new measures were necessary to protect Americans from foreigners who “intend to threaten” the country. The document also asserted that the United States must prevent the entry of individuals who would “undermine or destabilise its culture, government, institutions or founding principles.”
Syria’s inclusion drew immediate attention, coming just days after two US troops and a civilian were killed in the war-torn country. While Trump has sought to rehabilitate Syria internationally following the fall of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad, the administration cited security concerns linked to the incident. Syrian authorities said the perpetrator was a member of the security forces who was due to be dismissed for holding “extremist Islamist ideas.”
The proclamation also formalised what had previously been an informal policy: barring Palestinian Authority passport holders from entering the United States. The move aligns with Washington’s strong backing of Israel amid tensions triggered by the recognition of a Palestinian state by several Western powers, including France and Britain.
Among the newly added countries subject to a full travel ban are Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Sierra Leone and South Sudan — all among Africa’s poorest nations — as well as Laos in Southeast Asia. Critics say the selection reinforces concerns that the policy disproportionately targets developing and predominantly non-white countries.
Trump also announced partial travel restrictions on a separate group of countries, including Nigeria — Africa’s most populous nation — along with Ivory Coast and Senegal. The inclusion of Senegal and Ivory Coast has raised eyebrows, particularly as both countries have qualified for the football World Cup set to be hosted next year in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
While the Trump administration has pledged to allow athletes to enter the US for the tournament, it has offered no such assurances for fans from countries facing restrictions. Partial travel limits were also imposed on Canada and Mexico, America’s closest neighbours and co-hosts of the World Cup, though the White House did not immediately clarify how the measures would affect cross-border travel for ordinary citizens.
Additional countries hit with partial restrictions include Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Dominica, Gabon, The Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe, as well as Tonga in the Pacific. Many of these nations are either African or largely Black Caribbean states.
Several of the affected African countries — including Angola, Senegal and Zambia — have been close US partners in recent years. Former president Joe Biden had publicly praised all three for their commitment to democratic governance, making their inclusion in the new restrictions particularly striking.
Humanitarian and faith-based groups condemned the expansion of the travel ban, warning of its impact on vulnerable populations. Global Refuge, a Christian organisation that supports refugees, said the policy would push people fleeing conflict and persecution into greater danger.
“The administration is once again using the language of security to justify blanket exclusions that punish entire populations, rather than utilising individualised, evidence-based screening,” said Global Refuge president and CEO Krish O’Mara Vignarajah.
Trump has increasingly leaned on incendiary language to defend his immigration agenda. At a rally last week, he complained that the United States was taking people from what he described as “shithole countries” and said it should instead prioritise immigrants from Norway and Sweden. He also recently referred to Somalis as “garbage” following a scandal in Minnesota in which Somali Americans allegedly defrauded the government through fictitious contracts.
Somalia was already among the countries subject to a full travel ban. Others still facing complete entry prohibitions include Afghanistan, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Myanmar, Sudan and Yemen.
Last month, Trump further tightened restrictions on Afghans by ending a programme that allowed entry for those who had fought alongside US forces against the Taliban. The decision followed an incident in Washington in which an Afghan veteran — reportedly suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder — shot two National Guard troops deployed by Trump in the capital.
The White House said one previously targeted country, Turkmenistan, had made “significant progress” in addressing US concerns. As a result, Turkmen nationals will again be eligible for US visas, though only for non-immigrant purposes.
In parallel with the travel bans, Trump has all but dismantled the US refugee admissions system. The United States is now effectively accepting refugees from only one group: white Afrikaners from South Africa, a move that has drawn sharp criticism from civil rights advocates who accuse the administration of racial bias.
As legal challenges and diplomatic fallout loom, the expanded travel ban underscores Trump’s determination to make restrictive immigration policy a defining feature of his presidency — even as critics warn it risks isolating the United States and undermining its global standing.
