United States President Donald Trump has signed a new proclamation further tightening entry into the country for nationals of several countries deemed high risk, citing what the White House described as persistent deficiencies in screening, vetting and information sharing that pose threats to national security and public safety.
The proclamation, signed on Tuesday, December 16, places Nigeria among 15 additional countries subjected to partial entry restrictions. The decision was announced in a fact sheet published on the White House website the same day, titled “President Donald J. Trump Further Restricts and Limits the Entry of Foreign Nationals to Protect the Security of the United States.”
According to the White House, the latest measures are designed to strengthen national security through what it described as data driven and common sense restrictions. The proclamation expands on earlier travel controls introduced under Proclamation 10949 and related executive actions.
Under the new order, full entry restrictions remain in force for nationals of 12 countries previously affected by the earlier proclamation. These countries are Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
The proclamation also imposes full entry restrictions on five additional countries: Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan and Syria. Individuals travelling on documents issued by the Palestinian Authority are also subject to full restrictions. In addition, Laos and Sierra Leone, which had previously been under partial restrictions, have now been elevated to full entry bans.
Nationals of Burundi, Cuba, Togo and Venezuela remain under partial restrictions, while the latest directive adds 15 more countries to the partial restriction list. These include Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Dominica, Gabon, The Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The White House clarified that the restrictions are not absolute and include several exemptions. Lawful permanent residents of the United States, existing visa holders and certain visa categories such as diplomats and athletes are exempted from the ban. The proclamation also allows for entry where it is determined to serve United States national interests. Case by case waivers remain available, although family based immigrant visa exemptions associated with what the administration described as demonstrated fraud risks have been narrowed.
Explaining the rationale for the decision, the White House said the restrictions are intended “to prevent the entry of foreign nationals about whom the United States lacks sufficient information to assess the risks they pose, garner cooperation from foreign governments, enforce our immigration laws, and advance other important foreign policy, national security, and counterterrorism objectives.”
The fact sheet quoted President Trump as saying that safeguarding Americans remains a core responsibility of his office. “It is the President’s duty to take action to ensure that those seeking to enter our country will not harm the American people,” he said.
According to the White House, the decision followed extensive consultations with cabinet officials and security agencies, as well as assessments conducted under Executive Order 14161, Proclamation 10949 and country specific security data. The administration said the president determined that restricting or limiting entry from additional countries was necessary to protect public safety and national security.
The restrictions are described as country specific and calibrated to reflect the unique circumstances of each affected nation. The White House cited a range of concerns underpinning the decision, including widespread corruption, unreliable or fraudulent civil documentation, weak or non existent criminal record systems and the absence of effective birth registration processes. These challenges, it said, undermine the ability of US authorities to accurately vet visa applicants.
Other factors highlighted include some governments’ refusal to share passport samples or law enforcement data, the operation of citizenship by investment programmes that obscure identity, high rates of visa overstays, reluctance to accept the return of nationals ordered removed from the United States and the presence of terrorist, criminal or extremist activity within certain jurisdictions.
The White House framed the proclamation as part of President Trump’s broader national security and border control agenda, noting that he had pledged to restore and expand travel restrictions as a means of protecting the country. It also referenced a previous ruling by the US Supreme Court, which upheld similar measures and affirmed that such restrictions fall within the constitutional authority of the president when grounded in legitimate national security concerns.
In a related development, the proclamation announced the lifting of restrictions on non immigrant visas for nationals of Turkmenistan. The White House said this decision followed what it described as improved cooperation between Turkmenistan and the United States. However, restrictions on immigrant entry for Turkmen nationals remain in place.
The inclusion of Nigeria and other African countries under the partial restrictions is expected to spark diplomatic engagement and renewed debate over migration, security cooperation and information sharing between affected governments and Washington in the coming weeks.
