The Trump administration has announced an expansion of the US travel ban, adding five additional countries, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Palestine, South Sudan and Syria, while imposing new restrictions on travellers from up to 15 more nations.
This move is expected to significantly disrupt international airlines, including major carriers like Delta, United, Lufthansa, and Air Canada.
The White House moved Laos and Sierra Leone, which were previously subject to partial restrictions, to the full ban list and put partial restrictions on 15 other countries, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Ivory Coast, Dominica, Gabon, Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The inclusion of two Caribbean countries for the first time is regarded as a surprise.
The new restrictions on Palestinians come months after the administration imposed limits that make it nearly impossible for anyone holding a Palestinian Authority passport from receiving travel documents to visit the US for business, work, pleasure or educational purposes. The order does not name Palestine, which the US does not recognise,
Instead it refers to “Palestinian Authority Documents” and “individuals attempting to travel on PA-issued or endorsed travel documents”.
When Trump first ran for president in 2015, he called for a complete ban on Muslims entering the US, and when he started his first term, he imposed a travel ban on several Muslim-majority countries.
In June 2025 he banned citizens from Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen and heightened restrictions on visitors from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.
People who already have visas, are lawful permanent residents of the US, categories such as diplomats or athletes, or whose entry into the country is believed to serve the US interest, are exempt from the restrictions. The notice shared that the changes go into effect on 1 January.
