Trump now wants to expand travel ban to 36 new countries

A State Department memo identifies new nations for 'full or partial suspension of entry.'

Jun 16, 2025 - 15:16

Trump now wants to expand travel ban to 36 new countries

At the start of June, President Donald Trump signed a travel ban that denies the citizens of 12 countries from entering the U.S. for any reason.

The policy, which the White House justified as being necessary due to the "very high risk to the United States" that these countries and their citizens pose, is a revival of the 2017 ban that would later end up getting repealed by the Biden administration.

Iran, Somalia, Sudan, Libya, and Yemen were included in both bans, while the new version noticeably excluded North Korea and Syria. The ban put in place at the start of June also places student and business visa restrictions on seven additional nations: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.

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'The Department has identified 36 countries of concern'

A new State Department internal memo uncovered by the Washington Post shows that Trump is now considering expanding the travel ban to another 36 countries.

"The Department has identified 36 countries of concern that might be recommended for full or partial suspension of entry if they do not meet established benchmarks and requirements within 60 days," reads the cable signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio over the weekend of June 14.

The countries targeted for the ban include Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cote D'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Dominica, Ethiopia, Egypt, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Malawi, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, South Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Tonga, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Concerns outlined in the memo include passport security and standards in issuing of identity documents, whether the countries have cooperated with deportation of their citizens, and seemingly anti-Israel and anti-American sentiments in their governments.

Egypt, a very popular destination for tourists from around the world, is among the countries being targeted for a travel ban.
Image source: Shutterstock

State Department responds: 'We are constantly reevaluating'

The memo states that a final decision on which countries to ban will be made after 60 days, but does not elaborate on what nations will need to do to prove that they have met the "established benchmarks and requirements" set by the adminsitration.

If implemented to the full scope outlined in the memo, the travel ban would apply to roughly 25% of the world's countries, with travelers from 48 out of the 195 nations recognized by the United Nations facing either full or partial restrictions on entering the U.S.

More on travel:

"We are constantly reevaluating policies to ensure the safety of Americans and that foreign nationals follow our laws," a State Department official told Reuters in a statement after news of the planned ban leaked.

Multiple countries targeted in the earlier ban denounced the measure as unnecessarily provocative and unjustified. The African nation of Chad reciprocated by saying it will repeal any visas for U.S. citizens currently being processed, while the Republic of Congo called the action a "misunderstanding."

"Chad has neither planes to offer nor billions of dollars to give, but Chad has its dignity and pride," resident Mahamat Idriss Deby said in reference to a Boeing 747-8 luxury jet that Trump accepted from the Qatari royal family to use as Air Force One.