President Trump on Tuesday expanded his administration’s travel ban with full restrictions against five new countries and people with Palestinian Authority-issued travel documents, as well as partial restrictions on 15 countries.

Why it matters: The move is part of the administration’s crackdown on travel and immigration into the U.S.

Full restrictions remain in place for 12 countries previously identified as “high risk.”

Driving the news: The Trump administration instituted full restrictions and entry limitations against Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan, and Syria, as well as people with travel documents issued by the Palestinian Authority.

Trump expanded restrictions from partial to full against Laos and Sierra Leone.
He also added partial restrictions and energy limitations 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.
The ban was lifted from Turkmenistan on non-immigrant visas but maintained for immigrants.

Context: “Many of the restricted countries suffer from widespread corruption, fraudulent or unreliable civil documents and criminal records, and nonexistent birth-registration systems—systemically preventing accurate vetting,” the White House said in an announcement Tuesday.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem earlier this month said she recommended expanding the travel ban after the shooting of National Guard members by an Afghan national.

https://www.axios.com/2025/12/16/trump-travel-ban-expanded-december