An updated list of additional countries whose citizens are prohibited from entering the United States has been made public.
According to a statement released by the White House on Tuesday, December 17, 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump has added seven more countries to the list of nations whose citizens are not allowed to enter the United States.
The White House said in a statement that Trump signed a proclamation “expanding and strengthening entry restrictions on nationals from countries with demonstrated, persistent, and severe deficiencies in screening, vetting, and information-sharing to protect the Nation from national security and public safety threats.”
The statement also indicates that President Trump signed an executive order banning citizens of Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan, and Syria, as well as individuals travelling on documents issued by the Palestinian Authority, from entering the United States.
The decision also applies to citizens of Laos and Sierra Leone, countries that had already been subject to these restrictions on a temporary basis.
The White House further announced that the new measures will take effect on January 1, 2026.
The action comes despite Trump’s vow to do everything he could to make Syria successful after landmark talks in November with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former al Qaeda commander who until recently was sanctioned by Washington as a foreign terrorist.
The White House cited visa overstay rates for Syria in its justification for the ban.
“Syria is emerging from a protracted period of civil unrest and internal strife. While the country is working to address its security challenges in close coordination with the United States, Syria still lacks an adequate central authority for issuing passports or civil documents and does not have appropriate screening and vetting measures,” the White House said.
These measures apply to both immigrants and non-immigrants, including tourists, students, and individuals travelling to the United States for business purposes.
Since returning to power in January 2025, President Trump has prioritized the enforcement of strict immigration laws, deploying additional security personnel in major U.S. cities with large immigrant populations, and blocking asylum seekers attempting to enter the United States through the U.S.–Mexico border.
The tightening of U.S. immigration restrictions intensified following the killing of two U.S. National Guard soldiers who were shot in Washington, D.C., last month.
Investigators stated that the shooting was carried out by an Afghan national who entered the United States in 2021.
A few days after the shooting, President Trump vowed to completely halt the admission of migrants from all poor countries, although he did not specify the names of those countries.
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