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The immigration policy of the United States is tightening again. The White House confirmed this Tuesday the expansion of the so-called travel ban, a measure that now affects an additional twenty countries and keeps Cuba under partial entry restrictions, in a decision that reinforces the radical shift spearheaded by President Donald Trump since his return to power.
In an official fact sheet published by the White House, the administration announced that Trump signed a new Presidential Proclamation aimed at "further restricting and limiting the entry of foreign nationals" from countries that, according to Washington, exhibit serious and persistent deficiencies in verification systems, document control, and security cooperation. The stated objective is to protect national security and public order in the United States.
In the proclamation, Trump maintains the core of the ban that has been in effect since June and also adds new total suspensions for citizens of Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan, and Syria.
But the shift is not limited to those five countries. The proclamation also imposes total restrictions on anyone attempting to travel with documents issued by the Palestinian Authority, an inclusion that, by itself, represents a significant political and symbolic leap within the scope of the measure.
The "20 most" countries and how the list looks
The expansion is understood as follows: on one hand, there are five new countries with total suspension, and on the other hand, 15 new countries are added under partial restrictions: Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Côte d'Ivoire, Dominica, Gabon, Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
This is complemented by a significant change: Laos and Sierra Leone, which were previously under partial restrictions, are now placed under a regime of total restrictions, according to reports regarding the proclamation.
With this update, the total suspension block is now made up of the 12 original countries that have been restricted since June, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen, plus the five newly added countries: Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan, and Syria, along with the tightening for Laos and Sierra Leone, as well as the new restriction for travelers with documents from the Palestinian Authority.
At the same time, partial restrictions remain in place for Burundi, Cuba, Togo, and Venezuela, while the government is adjusting its approach to other cases, such as Turkmenistan, which is reported to be under a partial relief focus for certain visas.
And Cuba? The blow is "partial," but the wear and tear is real
For Cubans, the news has a dual interpretation, as Cuba was not added now because it was already included in the travel ban, but it remains in the group with partial restrictions, which keeps key categories of travel blocked and deepens the atmosphere of uncertainty.
In practice, the restrictions related to Cuba have focused on tourist and business visas (B-1/B-2) and on academic or exchange visas (F, M, J), according to the official implementation reported in June by the Department of State.
Behind the bureaucratic language, the human impact is equally felt: families counting the days for a reunion, people with purchased tickets, incomplete paperwork, study plans or medical visits caught in an increasingly rigid immigration policy.
And although the proclamation provides exceptions for permanent residents, holders of already issued visas, and specific cases, the expansion of the ban confirms that Washington is betting on a sustained hardening approach, not on a temporary measure.
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