Trump expands travel restrictions to new countries, adds Palestinians to list

President Trump signed a new proclamation expanding U.S. travel restrictions to include additional countries and individuals holding Palestinian Authority–issued travel documents, according to the White House.

The proclamation was signed on Tuesday and builds on earlier restrictions by adding full entry bans on Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan, and Syria, as well as on individuals traveling with Palestinian Authority–issued documents, according to the White House.

The order also imposes full restrictions on Laos and Sierra Leone, which had previously been subject to partial limits.

The White House said the proclamation continues full restrictions on nationals from 12 countries previously designated as high risk: Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.

Partial restrictions remain in place for Burundi, Cuba, Togo, and Venezuela.

In addition, the proclamation adds partial restrictions on nationals from 15 more countries: Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Dominica, Gabon, The Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, according to the White House.

The proclamation also narrows certain family-based immigrant visa exemptions that officials said have demonstrated fraud risks.

The administration said the decision follows an updated security analysis and builds on restrictions first imposed after an attack on National Guard personnel in Washington, D.C. Officials said the measures are intended to strengthen screening and reduce security threats.