The expansion of President Donald Trump’s travel ban will subject more refugees and immigrants to grave danger and diminish opportunities for foreign professionals and students to work and study in the U.S., immigration and education advocates warn.
Krish O’Mara Vignarajah
“With the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program and alternative legal pathways narrowing, many at-risk individuals, including journalists, religious minorities and human trafficking survivors, are being left with no viable route to safety,” said Global Refuge President Krish O’Mara Vignarajah. “Closing legal pathways does not eliminate need or risk; it simply pushes people further into harm’s way.”
The president issued a proclamation Dec. 16 adding Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan and Syria to the list of nations whose citizens were fully barred from entry in June — Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. Those carrying Palestinian authority documents also were added to the banned list.
“Closing legal pathways does not eliminate need or risk; it simply pushes people further into harm’s way.”
Partial restrictions and entry limitations on nationals from Burundi, Cuba, Togo and Venezuela will continue, the president said. “I have also decided to modify the partial restriction and limitation on the entry of nationals of Turkmenistan. These restrictions distinguish between, but apply to both, the entry of immigrants and nonimmigrants.”
Another 15 nations were slapped with partial travel restrictions: Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Dominica, Gabon, Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
“The restrictions and limitations imposed by this proclamation are, in my judgment, necessary to prevent the entry or admission of foreign nationals about whom the United States government lacks sufficient information to assess the risks they pose to the United States,” Trump said.
The expansion follows Trump’s decision this year to all but eliminate the nation’s refugee resettlement program. The 7,500-person cap he placed on admissions for 2026 is an all-time low and half the president’s previous record-setting low of 15,000. Mostly white refugees from South Africa will be admitted in the coming year.
Critics say the full and partial travel bans do little to protect the nation from the terrorists and illegal immigration the proclamation cites.
“The administration is once again using the language of security to justify blanket exclusions that punish entire populations, rather than utilizing individualized, evidence-based screening,” O’Mara Vignarajah said. “This move significantly expands the scope of the original travel ban, ensnaring families, students, workers and people fleeing violence — many of whom have longstanding ties to the United States.”
Miriam Feldblum
The expanded ban further cripples teaching and learning opportunities for academics and students critical to the vibrancy higher education in the U.S., said Miriam Feldblum, president of the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration. “This expanded travel ban creates immediate uncertainty for students, scholars and other campus members and their families, effectively closing the door on global talent.”
The ban also is “a self-inflicted wound” to the American economy and undermines the ability of business and universities to recruit and retain global talent, she added.
“The consequences of this expansion will be felt deeply across our campuses and communities, creating chaos for international education — our country’s seventh-largest service export. The chilling effect of this travel ban extends far beyond the impacted countries. We can expect disruptions to academic programs and losses for local businesses. It signals to the world that the U.S. is no longer a welcoming destination for talent from around the world.”
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