On Dec. 16, the president signed executive orders totally blocking the travel of nationals from Burkina Faso, Laos, Mali, Niger, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, and Syria, as well as individuals holding Palestinian Authority documents. That comes in addition to travel limitations that were placed on other countries earlier in the year that are already in effect.
The White House has said the restrictions are needed for national security and public safety purposes, noting the presence of terrorist groups in these countries. Many of the nations listed also have high visa overstay rates, and some have refused to take back their nationals during U.S. deportation procedures, according to the administration.
Partial restrictions are in effect for Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Dominica, Gabon, The Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Zambia, and Zimbabwe as well as Burundi, Cuba, Togo, and Venezuela, the proclamation stated.
The new restrictions on Palestinians come months after the administration imposed limits that make it nearly impossible for anyone holding a Palestinian Authority passport from receiving travel documents to visit the United States for business, work, pleasure, or educational purposes. Now, people with Palestinian Authority passports cannot emigrate to the United States.
A U.S. immigration official also confirmed to the media that the administration has also started to impose rules that allow for a weighted system to prioritize foreign nationals who could make a higher wage while in the United States.
“The new weighted selection will better serve Congress’ intent for the H-1B program and strengthen America’s competitiveness by incentivizing American employers to petition for higher-paid, higher-skilled foreign workers,” Tragesser added. “With these regulatory changes and others in the future, we will continue to update the H-1B program to help American businesses without allowing the abuse that was harming American workers.”
The Epoch Times contacted U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for comment on Jan. 1.
Since taking office last year, Trump has made mass deportations, border security, and more stringent immigration enforcement a priority in his second administration. Within hours of becoming president, Trump signed a number of orders on border security, birthright citizenship, and more.
Top officials in his administration have recently said that more immigration enforcement is coming in 2026 as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the agency tasked with deportations and immigration-related arrests, is due to receive more funding under a 2025 law. It will also be hiring more people and expanding detention capacity, said White House border czar Tom Homan.
“I think you’re going to see the numbers explode greatly next year,” Homan said, adding that there will be more enforcement operations at workplaces.