Trump expands travel ban to 5 more countries, imposes new limits on others

Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan and Syria were added. People with Palestinian-Authority-issued travel documents are also fully restricted from U.S. travel.

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is expanding its travel ban to include five more countries and impose new limits on others.

This move Tuesday is part of ongoing efforts to tighten U.S. entry standards for travel and immigration. The decision follows the arrest of an Afghan national suspect in the shooting of two National Guard troops over Thanksgiving weekend.

In June, President Donald Trump announced that citizens of 12 countries would be banned from visiting the United States and those from seven others would face restrictions. The decision resurrected a hallmark policy of his first term.

At the time the ban included Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen and heightened restrictions on visitors from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.

On Tuesday, the Republican administration announced it was expanding the list of countries whose citizens are banned from entering the U.S. to Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan and Syria. The administration also fully restricted travel on people with Palestinian-Authority-issued travel documents.