Trump Administration Eyes Travel Restrictions on 36 More Countries, Including Key U.S. Allies

The Trump administration is preparing to expand travel restrictions to include 36 additional countries—among them key U.S. allies like Egypt and Djibouti—according to an internal State Department memo obtained by The Washington Post.

Signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the memo was circulated to U.S. diplomats over the weekend. It gives the listed countries a 60-day deadline to comply with new requirements set by the State Department.

According to the document, some nations failed to meet specific benchmarks, including the inability to provide reliable identity documents or having a significant number of citizens who overstayed U.S. visas. In some cases, the memo cites the absence of a competent or cooperative central government as a concern.

However, the memo also offers a potential reprieve: countries willing to accept deported third-country nationals from the U.S. may receive more favorable consideration.

The countries facing possible visa restrictions, travel bans, or other penalties include 25 African nations: Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Egypt, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Malawi, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

The list also names Caribbean countries such as Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Saint Lucia; as well as four Asian countries—Bhutan, Cambodia, Kyrgyzstan, and Syria—and three Pacific nations: Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.

Each country has until Wednesday at 8 a.m. to submit an initial plan to meet the new criteria. It remains unclear whether restrictions will be immediately enforced after the deadline passes.

This internal memo surfaces just a week after President Trump reintroduced elements of his first-term travel ban, announcing full bans on 12 countries and restrictions on seven others.

In January, the president signed an executive order directing the State Department to evaluate and flag countries with inadequate security vetting processes for possible suspension of travel.

These moves are part of Trump’s broader immigration agenda, which includes aggressive deportation efforts within the U.S. and sweeping international travel limitations. While his hardline immigration stance was anticipated in a second term, the speed and extent of these actions have raised concerns among lawmakers and the public.