US travel ban widens as Trump adds five more countries: summary

What we know

• President Donald Trump has expanded a US travel ban, adding five more countries and people travelling on Palestinian Authority–issued or endorsed documents.
• The measures will take effect on January 1 and are intended, according to the White House, “to protect the security of the United States.”
• Full entry bans now apply to nationals of Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan and Syria, as well as Palestinian Authority passport holders.
• Laos and Sierra Leone were moved from partial restrictions to the full ban list.
• Four of the seven original high-risk nations—Burundi, Cuba, Togo, and Venezuela—had their partial restrictions upheld. 
• Turkmenistan was given a special status, with restrictions lifted for non-immigrant visas but maintained for immigrants.
• Partial restrictions were imposed on 15 additional countries: Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Dominica, Gabon, The Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
• The administration cited high visa overstay rates, unreliable civil records, corruption, terrorist activity, and poor cooperation on deportations as reasons for the move.
• The decision followed the arrest of an Afghan national suspected of shooting two National Guard troops over Thanksgiving, which the White House cited as a security concern.
• This is the third travel ban imposed by Trump. A similar ban during his first term was upheld by the US Supreme Court.
• The White House, which notes that the restrictions are intended “to protect the security of the United States”, said it will remain until affected countries show “credible improvements” in identity management, information-sharing and cooperation.
• Exemptions apply for lawful permanent residents, many existing visa holders, diplomats, athletes attending major sporting events, and case-by-case waivers in the national interest.
• U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem previously said the administration planned to expand the list to more than 30 countries.
• The expansion follows a broader tightening of immigration enforcement since Trump returned to office in January.

What they said

Speaking about the countries to be included on the ban list, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, during an interview with Fox News on December 4, said, “If they don't have a stable government there, if they don't have a country that can sustain itself and tell us who those individuals are and help us vet them, why should we allow people from that country to come here to the United States?” Trump previously said the ban was needed to protect against “foreign terrorists” and vowed to “permanently pause” migration from all “Third World Countries”.