The U.S. Donald Trump administration on the 16th (local time) added five countries, including Syria, where a recent killing of U.S. service members occurred, to the list of nations subject to an entry ban.
According to U.S. political outlet The Hill and others, President Trump on this day signed a proclamation that completely bans entry to the United States for nationals of five countries: Burkina Faso, Marlee, Niger, South Sudan, and Syria. In addition, individuals holding travel documents issued by the Palestinian Authority (PA) are also completely barred from entry.
In the proclamation, President Trump said it is U.S. policy "to protect the American people from foreign nationals who intend to carry out terrorist attacks, threaten national security or public safety, incite hate crimes, or exploit the immigration system for malicious purposes."
Previously, the Trump administration designated Iran, Yemen, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Libya, Somalia, and Sudan as countries subject to a full entry ban. The measures on these countries also remain in place.
Laos and Sierra Leone, previously classified as partial restriction countries, were reclassified this time as full entry-ban countries, while four countries — Burundi, Cuba, Togo, and Venezuela — will keep their existing partial restrictions. Turkmenistan, which had been under partial restrictions, saw the ban on nonimmigrant visas lifted.
In addition, 15 countries — Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Côte d'Ivoire, Dominica, Gabon, Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Zambia, and Zimbabwe — were newly designated as partial restriction countries.
The Trump administration described the measures as "related to national security," and said the countries could be removed from the list if they improve screening procedures or cooperate with the United States.