President Donald Trump on Tuesday, December 16, 2025, signed a proclamation expanding the list of countries facing full or partial travel restrictions to the United States. The move increases the number of affected countries from 19 to 39, according to the White House, marking a significant escalation in the administration’s immigration policy.
Under the new proclamation, seven countries have been added to the full travel ban list. These include Laos, Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan, and Syria. Laos and Sierra Leone were previously under partial restrictions, but now face complete entry limitations. The expansion also introduces partial travel restrictions on 15 additional countries: Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Dominica, Gabon, The Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
CNN had earlier reported in December 2025 that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem recommended expanding the list to between 30 and 32 countries. The final proclamation went further than expected, signaling a more aggressive stance on border control and foreign entry.
The White House stated that the listed countries show “severe deficiencies in screening, vetting, and information-sharing.” As a result, nationals from these countries now face restrictions when attempting to travel to the United States, although the severity varies depending on whether the country is under full or partial limitations.
Which travelers are exempt from the new US travel restrictions?
Despite the expanded ban, the proclamation outlines several exemptions. Lawful permanent residents, existing visa holders, specific visa categories, and individuals whose entry is deemed to serve the United States national interests are not affected. The policy also lifts a previous ban on non-immigrant visas for citizens of Turkmenistan, “while still maintaining suspended entry for Turkmen nationals.”
Additionally, the proclamation introduces travel limitations on individuals holding Palestinian Authority-issued travel documents. These adjustments reflect the administration’s broader effort to tighten entry requirements while preserving flexibility in select cases.
The timing of the announcement aligns with an intensified immigration crackdown by the Trump administration. Officials have linked the policy shift to a recent shooting in Washington, DC, that resulted in the death of one National Guard member and left another critically wounded. The suspect, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, is an Afghan national who previously worked with the United States in Afghanistan and was later resettled in Washington state. He was granted asylum under the Trump administration after arriving during the Biden administration.
How does this travel ban compare to Trump’s first-term policies?
During his first term, President Trump introduced a controversial travel ban targeting seven majority Muslim countries. That policy faced multiple legal challenges before the Supreme Court upheld its third version in 2017. It restricted entry, to varying degrees, from Iran, North Korea, Syria, Libya, Yemen, Somalia, and Venezuela. President Joe Biden repealed the ban when he took office in 2021.
The current proclamation marks a broader approach, both in scale and scope. Alongside the travel restrictions, Trump has halted or significantly tightened nearly all legal and illegal forms of foreign entry into the United States. Additional measures include a pause on asylum decisions, a review of cases approved under the Biden administration, and a “reexamination” of certain green card holders.
With the latest proclamation, the full list of 39 countries facing full or partial restrictions includes Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, Venezuela, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan, Syria, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Dominica, Gabon, The Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
The inclusion of Tanzania and several other African nations underscores the global reach of the new policy and signals a continued hardline approach to immigration as Trump reshapes US entry rules once again.
By Lucky Anyanje