President Donald J. Trump signed a new Proclamation on Wednesday restricting the entry of foreign nationals from 19 countries into the United States. The action, framed as a continuation of Trump’s earlier “travel ban” policy upheld by the Supreme Court in Trump v. Hawaii, is intended to bolster America’s defenses against terrorism and other national security and public safety threats.
The June 4 Proclamation builds on Executive Order 14161, which the President issued in January 2025, directing a broad assessment of global screening and vetting practices to determine which foreign governments failed to meet U.S. security standards. Based on a report delivered in April by the Departments of State, Homeland Security, and Justice, along with intelligence community input, the administration identified several countries deemed to pose high or very high risks to the U.S.
12 Countries Face Full Entry Bans
Nationals from the following 12 countries will now face full restrictions on both immigrant and nonimmigrant entry into the U.S.:
- Afghanistan
- Burma (Myanmar)
- Chad
- Republic of the Congo
- Equatorial Guinea
- Eritrea
- Haiti
- Iran
- Libya
- Somalia
- Sudan
- Yemen
According to the White House, these nations were found to have “inadequate screening and vetting procedures,” “high visa overstay rates,” or poor cooperation with U.S. immigration enforcement.
Partial Restrictions for 7 Additional Nations
A second tier of countries will face partial entry restrictions due to ongoing but less severe concerns. These include:
- Burundi
- Cuba
- Laos
- Sierra Leone
- Togo
- Turkmenistan
- Venezuela
The administration said these nations also demonstrated “deficiencies” in identity verification and information-sharing protocols, or had a history of noncompliance in repatriating their nationals after removal orders.
As with previous travel restrictions, legal challenges may emerge in the coming weeks. In the meantime, agencies will begin implementing the new rules and updating travelers and immigration stakeholders about the implications for visa processing and travel.
Read the full Proclamation here and the Fact Sheet here.
(AI was used in part to facilitate this article.)