President Donald J. Trump on Tuesday signed a new presidential proclamation expanding U.S. entry restrictions on foreign nationals from multiple countries, citing persistent deficiencies in screening, vetting, and information-sharing that pose risks to national security and public safety.

The move builds on an earlier proclamation from June 2025 (Proclamation 10949), which imposed full restrictions on 12 high-risk countries: Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.

The updated proclamation maintains those full bans while adding:-

**Full restrictions** on five additional countries: Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan, and Syria.-

**Full restrictions** on individuals holding Palestinian Authority-issued travel documents.- Upgrades to

**full restrictions** for Laos and Sierra Leone, previously under partial limits.Partial restrictions—primarily affecting immigrant visas, business/tourist (B-1/B-2), and student/exchange (F, M, J) visas—now apply to 15 new countries, including:

– Angola

– Antigua and Barbuda

– Benin

– Côte d’Ivoire

– Dominica- Gabon

– The Gambia

– Malawi- Mauritania

– Nigeria

– Senegal

– Tanzania

– Tonga

– Zambia

– ZimbabwePartial restrictions remain in place for Burundi, Cuba, Togo, and Venezuela.

In a White House fact sheet, the administration described the action as “strengthening national security through common sense restrictions based on data.”

It emphasized challenges such as widespread corruption, unreliable civil documents, nonexistent birth-registration systems, refusal to share law-enforcement data, high visa overstay rates, and the presence of terrorist or extremist activity in affected countries.

President Trump was quoted in the fact sheet:

“It is the President’s duty to take action to ensure that those seeking to enter our country will not harm the American people.

”The proclamation includes exceptions for lawful permanent residents, existing visa holders, certain categories (e.g., athletes and diplomats), and cases where entry serves U.S. national interests.

Family-based immigrant visa exemptions with high fraud risks have been narrowed, though case-by-case waivers are still available.

The White House framed the policy as fulfilling Trump’s campaign promises to restore and expand travel restrictions, referencing a prior Supreme Court ruling that upheld similar measures as within presidential authority and premised on legitimate purposes—preventing entry of inadequately vetted individuals and encouraging foreign governments to improve cooperation.

Notably, Turkmenistan saw partial relief: nonimmigrant visa restrictions were lifted due to improved cooperation, though immigrant entry suspensions remain.

Nigeria’s inclusion follows Trump’s earlier designation of the country as a “Country of Particular Concern” in October 2025 over allegations of severe religious freedom violations and persecution of Christians, though Nigerian officials have disputed characterizations of the violence as targeted genocide.

The new restrictions are tailored to encourage cooperation from affected nations, with ongoing assessments based on Executive Order 14161 issued in January 2025.

Vice President Kashim Shettima has arrived in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, to represent President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the swearing-in ceremony of President Alassane Ouattara for his fourth term in office.

The inauguration is scheduled for Monday, 8 December 2025, at the Presidential Palace in Abidjan, where Senator Shettima will join other African heads of state, government leaders, and international dignitaries.

President Ouattara secured re-election in the 25 October 2025 presidential poll, extending his leadership of the West African nation, which enjoys long-standing and robust diplomatic ties with Nigeria.

Upon arrival at Félix-Houphouët-Boigny International Airport, Vice President Shettima was received by Côte d’Ivoire’s Prime Minister, Mr. Robert Mambe; Nigeria’s Chargé d’Affaires in Côte d’Ivoire, Mrs. Item Akpama; and other senior Ivorian and Nigerian officials.

The visit underscores Nigeria’s continued commitment to regional solidarity, democratic governance, and constitutional order in West Africa. It also highlights the strong bilateral partnership between Abuja and Abidjan, anchored on cooperation within ECOWAS and the African Union, the Nigeria-Côte d’Ivoire Bi-National Commission, and multiple sectoral agreements spanning security, trade, agriculture, anti-human trafficking efforts, and the digital economy.

A sizeable Nigerian community in Côte d’Ivoire continues to play a vital role in deepening people-to-people and commercial links between the two countries.Vice President Shettima is expected to return to Abuja immediately after the inauguration ceremony.

The Trump administration is rolling out a new visa-restriction policy in response to a wave of brutal anti-Christian attacks in Nigeria, targeting those accused of orchestrating religious violence against Christians in the West African nation and around the world.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Wednesday that a new policy in the Immigration and Nationality Act will allow the State Department to deny visas to those “who have directed, authorized, significantly supported, participated in, or carried out violations of religious freedom.” Immediate family members may also face visa restrictions in some cases.

“The United States is taking decisive action in response to the mass killings and violence against Christians by radical Islamic terrorists, Fulani ethnic militias, and other violent actors in Nigeria and beyond,” Rubio said in the statement.

The move follows a surge of attacks on Christians and Christian institutions in Nigeria. Last month, gunmen stormed the Christ Apostolic Church in Eruku, Kwara State, killing two people and kidnapping dozens. The 38 abducted worshipers were freed nearly a week later.

Days later, armed attackers raided St. Mary’s School in Niger State, abducting more than 300 students and staff. School officials said 50 students aged 10 to 18 escaped in the following days, but 253 students and 12 teachers remain captive.

The violence prompted President Donald Trump to designate Nigeria a “country of particular concern,” though the Nigerian government disputes the U.S. assessment.

“I’m really angry about it,” the president told Fox News Radio last month. “What’s happening in Nigeria is a disgrace.”

Rubio said the new visa restrictions will apply to Nigeria and to any other governments or individuals involved in violating religious freedom.

Echoing Trump’s warning, Rubio said: “As President Trump made clear, the ‘United States cannot stand by while such atrocities are happening in Nigeria, and numerous other countries.’”