Donald Trump is intensifying his immigration crackdown by considering the expansion of the U.S. travel ban to include 36 additional countries. This follows a proclamation earlier this month that fully banned travelers from 12 nations and imposed partial restrictions on seven more. According to an internal State Department memo signed by Secretary Marco Rubio, the countries under review—many in Africa, as well as nations in Asia, the Caribbean, and the Pacific—have been given 60 days to meet new U.S. security and cooperation benchmarks. These include issues related to passport verification, visa overstays, terrorism links, and government transparency. Failure to comply may result in these countries being added to the existing list of those facing full or partial travel restrictions.
The move has sparked widespread protests, especially following Trump’s deployment of ICE officers in cities like Los Angeles, which escalated into riots and drew significant backlash. Controversially, his administration also banned international students from enrolling at certain universities like Harvard—a policy currently stalled in court. Critics argue these actions reflect an aggressive and divisive stance on immigration, with potentially deep diplomatic consequences. For now, the targeted countries are in a countdown phase, where compliance—or the lack thereof—will determine their future access to the U.S.
Here’s the current full ban list:
- Afghanistan
- Myanmar
- Chad
- Republic of the Congo
- Equatorial Guinea
- Eritrea
- Haiti
- Iran
- Libya
- Somalia
- Sudan
- Yemen
Other countries with US travel restrictions:
- Burundi
- Cuba
- Laos
- Sierra Leone
- Togo
- Turkmenistan
- Venezuela
