Kristi Noem recommends expanding U.S. travel ban to 30+ countries; India’s status unclear as immigration applications paused. Photo: ANI.
U.S. Travel Ban Countries List: Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has recommended that the Trump administration expand its current travel ban from 19 countries to as many as 30 or 32 nations, according to a CNN report. Nationals from these countries currently face restrictions on travel to the United States. According to reports, the list could continue to grow depending on ongoing assessments.
According to a CNN report, the list of new countries under consideration will be released shortly. The administration already enforces a complete ban on travelers from 12 countries, with partial restrictions on seven others. However, it remains unclear which additional countries would be included or when the expansion will be formally announced.
“We will be announcing the list soon,” a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson told NBC News. The status of India is also not known yet.
Full travel ban has already been announced for these countries – Afghanistan, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Myanmar, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen
Partial travel restrictions for these countries – Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, Venezuela
On Monday, Noem stated that following a meeting with President Trump, she recommended imposing a “full travel ban” on what she described as “every damn country that’s been flooding our nation with killers, leeches, and entitlement junkies.”
She also posted a message on X, writing, “Our forefathers built this nation on blood, sweat, and the unyielding love of freedom, not for foreign invaders to slaughter our heroes, suck dry our hard-earned tax dollars, or snatch the benefits owed to AMERICANS. We don’t want them, not one.”
President Trump later shared Noem’s statement on his social media accounts without additional comment.
Following the announcement, the Trump administration has paused all immigration applications from the 19 countries on the current ban list, The New York Times reported. The pause, effective immediately, affects green card interviews, naturalization interviews, citizenship oath ceremonies, and other immigration benefits.
In June, the administration had already banned nationals from 12 countries, including Afghanistan, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen, from entering the U.S. In October, the refugee admissions cap was lowered to 7,500, the lowest in U.S. history.
The recommendation comes shortly after a shooting in Washington, D.C., which killed one National Guard member and severely injured another. The suspect, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, is an Afghan national who previously worked with the U.S. in Afghanistan. He later moved to Washington state under the Biden administration and was granted asylum.
On Thanksgiving Day, Trump stated he wanted to “permanently pause migration from all third-world countries” and referenced “reverse migration.” Analysts suggest this could imply potential revocation of citizenship for some naturalized Americans and deportation for immigrants deemed “non-compatible with Western civilisation.”
Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
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