Nigeria added as US expands travel restrictions

Nigeria added as US expands travel restrictions

President Donald Trump on Tuesday, December 16, signed a proclamation similarly proscribing access into america for nationals of nations identified as excessive chance by virtue of what the White residence described as continual and intense deficiencies in screening, vetting and facts sharing that threaten country wide safety and public protection.

among the 15 additional international locations positioned underneath partial entry restrictions is Nigeria. The selection used to be introduced in a truth sheet published at the White house website on December sixteen, 2025, titled “President Donald J. Trump similarly Restricts and boundaries the entry of foreign Nationals to protect the security of america”.

The White residence stated the pass was once aimed at strengthening country wide security thru what it known as commonplace sense restrictions based totally on information.

The proclamation continues full access regulations on nationals from the unique 12 international locations formerly listed beneath Proclamation 10949. those international locations are Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.

It also introduces full regulations on 5 extra international locations, specifically Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan and Syria, in addition to people retaining journey documents issued via the Palestinian Authority. Laos and Sierra Leone, which were previously underneath partial regulations, have now been placed below complete regulations.

Nationals of Burundi, Cuba, Togo and Venezuela remain difficulty to partial regulations.

in addition, the proclamation imposes partial entry restrictions on 15 more nations. these consist of Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Dominica, Gabon, The Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The fact sheet states that exemptions stay in vicinity for lawful permanent residents, current visa holders, certain visa classes which include athletes and diplomats, and people whose entry is deemed to serve united states of america country wide pursuits. It also notes that family primarily based immigrant visa exemptions related to what it defined as established fraud risks had been narrowed, while case by using case waivers are still feasible.

Explaining the decision, the White house stated the proclamation is supposed “to prevent the access of overseas nationals approximately whom america lacks adequate information to evaluate the dangers they pose, garner cooperation from foreign governments, enforce our immigration laws, and strengthen other essential foreign coverage, countrywide security, and counterterrorism objectives”.

The report quoted Trump as announcing, “it is the President’s obligation to do so to make sure that the ones searching for to go into our us of a will now not harm the yankee people.”

in line with the White residence, the decision accompanied consultations with cupboard officers and assessments performed under government Order 14161, Proclamation 10949 and united states unique information. It said the president determined that limiting or restricting access from extra international locations was once quintessential to defend countrywide security and public safety.

The regulations are defined as us of a particular, with the White house announcing they are intended to encourage cooperation while recognising the precise situations of every state. demanding situations cited consist of giant corruption, unreliable or fraudulent civil files, weak criminal file systems and the absence of powerful delivery registration processes that hinder correct vetting.

The fact sheet additionally factors to some countries’ refusal to proportion passport samples or regulation enforcement statistics, using citizenship with the aid of investment schemes that obscure identification, excessive visa overstay rates, refusal to just accept the return of removable nationals and the presence of terrorist, crook or extremist interest.

The White house framed the move as a part of Trump’s broader country wide safety agenda, saying he’s pleasing a promise to repair tour regulations and toughen border safety. It also referenced a preceding very best court ruling on comparable measures, noting that the courtroom determined such regulations to fall inside presidential authority and to be primarily based on legitimate security goals.

The proclamation also announced that regulations on nonimmigrant visas for Turkmenistan were lifted following what the White residence defined as progressed cooperation with america, while restrictions on immigrant access for Turkmen nationals continue to be in location.