Trump expands travel ban to hit 5 countries with sweeping new restrictions, citing security concerns

President Trump expanded a travel ban to include five more countries, including Syria and Mali, citing national security concerns and insufficient vetting.

Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem speaks as President Donald Trump listens. On Tuesday, Trump expanded a travel ban by adding five more countries. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Another 15 countries – Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Dominica, Gabon, The Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Zambia and Zimbabwe – will face partial restrictions.

The proclamation also "narrows broad family-based immigrant visa carve-outs that carry demonstrated fraud risks, while preserving case-by-case waivers," the White House said. 

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In its announcement, the Trump administration said many of the countries on the travel ban suffer from "widespread corruption, fraudulent or unreliable civil documents and criminal records, and nonexistent birth-registration systems," which makes it difficult to perform accurate vetting. Others refuse to share law-enforcement data, while others permit "Citizenship-by-Investment schemes that conceal identity and bypass vetting requirements and travel restrictions."

In June, Trump announced a U.S. entry ban on citizens of 12 countries – Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen – while also tightening restrictions on others: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.

Tuesday's decision follows the arrest of an Afghan national suspected of shooting two National Guard soldiers in Washington D.C. over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. 

A new U.S. citizen holds the U.S. flag and the Oath of Allegiance during a naturalization ceremony at George Washington's Mount Vernon in Mount Vernon, Va., on Friday, July 4, 2025.  (Kent Nishimura/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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At the time of the killing, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Rahmanullah Lakanwal was one of the many unvetted Afghans who were mass paroled into the U.S. under Operation Allies Welcome under the Biden administration.

Lakanwal is accused of shooting U.S. Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, who later died, and U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, who is recovering.

Louis Casiano is a reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to louis.casiano@fox.com.

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