President Donald Trump has expanded the travel ban by restricting entry into the U.S. for holders of Palestinian Authority-issued travel documents

Under the measure, full restrictions and entry limitations also have been imposed on nationals from Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan, and Syria, in addition to an earlier list of 12 countries already subject to restrictions. Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, and Syria are Muslim-majority countries, with Islam being the dominant faith, while South Sudan is a Christian-majority nation, although it has a significant (hostile to Christians) Muslim population.

Re: The Palestinian Authority Travel Ban

• Several U.S.-designated terrorist groups operate actively in the West Bank or Gaza Strip and have murdered American citizens. Also, the recent war in these areas likely resulted in compromised vetting and screening abilities. In light of these factors, and considering the weak or nonexistent control exercised over these areas by the PA, individuals attempting to travel on PA-issued or endorsed travel documents cannot currently be properly vetted and approved for entry into the United States.

Other Muslim-Majority Countries on the List:

• Afghanistan: Over 99% Muslim.
• Chad: A significant Muslim majority.
• Iran: Almost entirely Muslim (mostly Shia).
• Libya: Over 97% Muslim, Islam is state religion.
• Somalia: Over 99% Muslim, Islam is state religion.
• Sudan: Predominantly Muslim.
• Yemen: Over 99% Muslim, Islam is state religion. 

Today, President Donald J. 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 Proclamation continues the full restrictions and entry limitations of nationals from the original 12 high-risk countries established under Proclamation 10949: Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.
• It adds full restrictions and entry limitations on 5 additional countries based on recent analysis: Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan, and Syria.
• It also adds full restrictions and entry limitations on individuals holding Palestinian-Authority-issued travel documents. 
• It imposes full restrictions and entry limitations on 2 countries that were previously subject to partial restrictions: Laos and Sierra Leone.
• The Proclamation continues partial restrictions of nationals from 4 of the 7 original high-risk countries: Burundi, Cuba, Togo, and Venezuela.
  • Because Turkmenistan has engaged productively with the United States and demonstrated significant progress since the previous Proclamation, this new Proclamation lifts the ban on its nonimmigrant visas, while maintaining the suspension of entry for Turkmen nationals as immigrants.
• It adds partial restrictions and entry limitations on 15 additional countries: Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Dominica, Gabon, The Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
• The Proclamation includes exceptions for lawful permanent residents, existing visa holders, certain visa categories like athletes and diplomats, and individuals whose entry serves U.S. national interests.
  • The Proclamation narrows broad family-based immigrant visa carve-outs that carry demonstrated fraud risks, while preserving case-by-case waivers.

SECURING OUR BORDERS AND INTERESTS: The restrictions and limitations imposed by the Proclamation are necessary to prevent the entry of foreign nationals about whom the United States lacks sufficient information to assess the risks they pose, garner cooperation from foreign governments, enforce our immigration laws, and advance other important foreign policy, national security, and counterterrorism objectives.

• It is the President’s duty to take action to ensure that those seeking to enter our country will not harm the American people.
• After consulting with cabinet officials and in light of the original report pursuant to Executive Order 14161, Proclamation 10949, and country-specific information gathered since, President Trump has determined that the entry of nationals from additional countries must be restricted or limited to protect U.S. national security and public safety interests.
• The restrictions are country-specific in order to encourage cooperation with the subject countries in recognition of each country’s unique circumstances.
• Many of the restricted countries suffer from widespread corruption, fraudulent or unreliable civil documents and criminal records, and nonexistent birth-registration systems—systemically preventing accurate vetting.
• Some nations refuse to share passport exemplars or law-enforcement data, while others permit Citizenship-by-Investment schemes that conceal identity and bypass vetting requirements and travel restrictions.
• Some countries’ high visa-overstay rates and refusal to repatriate removable nationals demonstrate disregard for U.S. immigration laws and burden American enforcement resources.
• Terrorist presence, criminal activity, and extremist activity in several listed countries result in a general lack of stability and government control—which causes deficient vetting capabilities and poses direct risks to American citizens and interests when nationals from these countries are admitted to the United States.