On December 5, US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem officially confirmed the plan to expand the scope of the entry ban.
When asked whether the Trump administration would increase the number of countries on the restricted list to 32, Noem declined to give an exact figure but said it would be more than 30 countries and the president was continuing to assess each specific case.
Previously, in June, Mr. Trump signed a statement banning citizens of 12 countries from entering the US and imposing restrictions on 7 other countries.
These bans have a very wide scope of impact, applying to both settled and non- settled people such as tourists, students and business visitors.
The White House affirmed that this measure is necessary to protect the US from "foreign terrorists" and potential security threats.
Although she did not specifically name the new countries that would be blacklisted, Noem explained the government's screening criteria. She argues that if a country without a stable government, cannot maintain order on its own or cannot provide citizen identification verification information to support the US in checking security, Washington has no reason to allow people from that country to enter the country.
The move to escalate border control comes as US security is being tightened to the maximum after a shooting at two National Guard members in Washington, D.C. on November 26, killing one person.
Investigators identified the suspect as an Afghanistan citizen who entered the US in 2021 under a resettlement program. The case has become the basis for the Trump administration to argue that the previous appraisal process was not strict enough and was potentially risky.
Shortly after the shooting, Trump said he would permanently suspend migration from all third- world countries, although he did not specify the list.
The Ministry of Home Security said the president had ordered a review of a series of asylum records and Green Cards issued to citizens of 19 countries under previous governments.
The expansion of the travel ban this time marks a new shift in Mr. Trump's policy, shifting the focus from illegal immigration to completely reshaping the flow of legal immigrants to the US.
