Donald Trump expanded the travel ban and blocked the entry of Palestinians to the US

President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday an expansion of the travel ban to the United States, adding several more countries and blocking the entry of people traveling with documents issued or endorsed by the Palestinian Authority (PA).

The measure was formalized through a Presidential Proclamation and, according to the White House, it aims to protect the country from threats to national security and public safety.

According to the official document, the decision to restrict the entry of Palestinians is based on the active presence of terrorist groups designated by the United States in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, some of which have been responsible for the deaths of American citizens.

The proclamation also states that the recent armed conflict in those areas has severely deteriorated verification and control systems, making it difficult for American authorities to properly investigate entry applicants.

The White House further argued that the Palestinian Authority exerts limited or nonexistent control over parts of these territories, which prevents it from guaranteeing the authenticity of travel documents and from verifying criminal records or possible extremist ties.

In that context, the Trump administration concluded that, for the moment, it is not possible to safely authorize the entry of people who use Palestinian documentation.

The proclamation also expands the total travel ban to citizens of Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan, and Syria. According to the American government, these countries face high levels of instability, terrorist activity, organized crime, and extremism, and they also lack reliable identification systems and cooperation with United States immigration authorities.

These five countries are added to 12 others previously included in the ban list announced in June: Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. In all cases, the administration cited the lack of sufficient information to assess the risks that some of their citizens could pose.

Additionally, the government imposed partial travel restrictions on people coming from another 15 countries, including Angola, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, and Zambia. These measures limit the type of visas available and tighten entry requirements, although they do not constitute a total ban.

In the proclamation, President Trump stated that it is his responsibility "to take action to ensure that those seeking to enter our country do not harm the American people." The White House emphasized that the new restrictions are part of a broader strategy to strengthen migration control and close potential security gaps.