Overview
- Under a new presidential proclamation, citizens of Syria, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan, Laos and Sierra Leone are barred from entry, and holders of Palestinian Authority–issued travel documents are also excluded.
- Laos and Sierra Leone shift from partial to full bans as the administration also imposes new partial restrictions on roughly 15 additional countries, bringing the total under full or partial limits to about 39.
- The order tightens prior rules by removing automatic exemptions previously available to some adoptees, immediate relatives of U.S. citizens and Afghan Special Immigrant Visa holders.
- Limited carve-outs include national-team players for next year’s World Cup, with no announced exceptions for fans from the affected countries.
- The White House cites deficiencies in vetting, passport controls and information-sharing and singles out the Palestinian Authority’s weakened oversight, while advocates condemn broad nationality-based bans and link the timing to DHS Secretary Kristi L. Noem’s advice after an Afghan immigrant was charged in a deadly attack on National Guard soldiers.