Donald Trump imposed a complete ban on entry to the U.S. for citizens of several countries, including Syria, as well as holders of documents from the Palestinian Authority. Restrictions on Turkmenistan have been eased, DW reports.
U.S. President Donald Trump has expanded the list of countries whose citizens are completely banned from entering American territory. The document published by the White House on Tuesday, December 16, states that the new restrictions, which will take effect on January 1, 2026, will affect 20 countries and territories. Thus, the list of countries for which these restrictions apply has doubled.
The complete entry ban now applies to citizens of Burkina Faso, Laos, Mali, Niger, Syria, Sierra Leone, and South Sudan, as well as to holders of travel documents issued by the Palestinian National Authority.
Partial entry restrictions to the U.S. have been imposed on Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Gabon, Gambia, the Dominican Republic, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Côte d'Ivoire, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, and Tonga.
The statement notes that this measure targets countries with persistent serious deficiencies in security screening and information sharing.
At the same time, Washington is lifting restrictions on non-immigrant visas for citizens of Turkmenistan, while the suspension of immigrant visa issuance remains in place. This is explained by the fact that Ashgabat is "productively engaging" with the U.S. administration and has demonstrated progress in improving identification procedures and information sharing.
Trump Previously Imposed a Ban, Biden Lifted It
During his first presidential term, Donald Trump imposed a similar ban on citizens of Cuba, Chad, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Venezuela, and Yemen. This measure was lifted by Joe Biden.
Trump claimed that this measure, taken during his first term, was "extremely successful" and prevented terrorist attacks in the U.S. "We will restore the entry ban and will not allow radical Islamic terrorists to enter our country," the U.S. president stated.
After returning to the White House in June 2025, Trump reintroduced entry restrictions for citizens of 19 countries. A complete ban came into effect for Afghanistan, Haiti, Iran, Yemen, Libya, Myanmar, Somalia, Sudan, the Republic of Congo, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, and Eritrea, while a partial ban was imposed on citizens of Burundi, Venezuela, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, and Turkmenistan.
However, neither North Korea nor Syria were included under either the complete or partial ban at that time.
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