Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has confirmed plans to widen the administration’s travel restrictions significantly, citing the need to block entry from nations unable to vet their own citizens.
The United States is preparing to expand its controversial travel ban to cover more than 30 countries, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has confirmed. Speaking on Thursday (4 December), Ms Noem stated that the Trump administration is evaluating a new list of nations deemed “high risk,” escalating the immigration crackdown following a deadly attack on National Guard troops in Washington last week.
In an interview with Fox News, Ms Noem declined to give a specific number but confirmed the list would grow from the current 19 nations to “over 30.” She explained that the expansion targets countries lacking stable governments capable of sharing background information on their citizens.
“If they don’t have a stable government there… and tell us who those individuals are and help us vet them, why should we allow people from that country to come here?” she asked.
The current restrictions, issued in June, already block or limit entry for nationals from 19 countries, including Afghanistan, Iran, Yemen, and Venezuela. The expansion follows a recent directive pausing all immigration applications including green cards and asylum requests for citizens of these nations.
“I won’t be specific on the number, but it’s over 30, and the president is continuing to evaluate countries,” Ms Noem told The Ingraham Angle.
The Secretary had previously used sharper language on social media after meeting with President Trump earlier this week. “I am recommending a full travel ban on every damn country that’s been flooding our nation with killers, leeches, and entitlement junkies,” she wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
This policy shift is a direct response to the shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, D.C. over the Thanksgiving weekend. The suspect, an Afghan national who entered the US in 2021, has been cited by the administration as proof that current vetting protocols are insufficient.
The move signals a return to the “extreme vetting” ideology of President Trump’s first term but on a significantly larger scale. Unlike the 2017 ban, which focused primarily on Muslim-majority nations, this expansion is expected to include a broader range of “third-world” countries that the administration argues are incompatible with US security standards.
While the specific list of new countries has not yet been released, reports suggest it could include up to 36 nations. The administration is also reviewing all asylum cases and green cards issued to nationals from these countries since 2021, a move that could leave thousands of legal residents in limbo.
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