President Donald Trump has announced expanded entry restrictions on foreign nationals from 24 countries, including Nigeria, citing what he described as persistent shortcomings in screening, vetting and information-sharing that pose risks to United States national security and public safety.
The decision, unveiled on Tuesday, was published on the White House website in a fact sheet titled “President Donald J. Trump Further Restricts and Limits the Entry of Foreign Nationals to Protect the Security of the United States.”
According to the document, the proclamation places a full suspension on eight countries and a partial suspension on 16 others, affecting both immigrants and nonimmigrants seeking entry on B-1, B-2, B-1/B-2, F, M and J visas.
The administration said the action was aimed at strengthening border controls and ensuring compliance with immigration laws, noting that some affected countries lack adequate systems to provide reliable information needed to assess potential security risks.
Under the full suspension category are Burkina Faso, Laos, Mali, Niger, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Syria and individuals travelling on Palestinian Authority-issued or endorsed documents. The fact sheet linked the decision to factors ranging from terrorist activities and armed conflict to high visa overstay rates and refusal by some countries to accept deported nationals.
For partial suspension, the affected countries include Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Dominica, Gabon, The Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The restrictions apply mainly to immigrants and nonimmigrants on the specified visa categories.
On Nigeria, the document noted the activities of extremist groups in parts of the country and highlighted visa overstay figures, which it said complicate effective screening and vetting of travellers.
The fact sheet emphasized that the measures “are necessary to prevent the entry of foreign nationals about whom the United States lacks sufficient information to assess the risks they pose” and to enforce immigration laws while protecting American citizens.