The United States has broadened its travel restrictions, with an official confirming that the list of banned countries now exceeds 30. President Donald Trump signed a proclamation in June barring nationals from 12 countries and imposing additional restrictions on seven others, citing the need to guard against “foreign terrorists” and other security risks.
The measures apply to both immigrant and non-immigrant travelers, including tourists, students and business visitors. While the official did not disclose which new countries would be added, they argued that the US should not admit individuals from nations lacking stable governance or the capacity to support proper vetting procedures.
Reuters previously reported that the administration was weighing the addition of 36 more countries to the travel ban, according to an internal State Department cable.
Any expansion of the list would further intensify the administration’s migration policies following last week’s shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, DC. Investigators say the suspect, an Afghan national who arrived in 2021 through a resettlement program, may have been insufficiently vetted — a point current officials have emphasized.
In the days after the incident, Trump pledged to impose a “permanent pause” on migration from all “Third World Countries,” without specifying which nations would be included. Earlier, the Department of Homeland Security revealed that Trump had ordered a sweeping review of asylum cases approved under President Joe Biden, as well as Green Cards issued to citizens of 19 countries.
Since returning to office in January, Trump has intensified immigration enforcement efforts, deploying federal agents to major cities and blocking asylum seekers at the US-Mexico border. Until now, his administration had placed greater focus on deportations than on overhauling legal immigration pathways.
