WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has widened its U.S. travel ban, adding several African and Middle Eastern countries and placing Zimbabwe among 15 nations facing tighter entry restrictions.
The expanded measures, announced Tuesday, follow the arrest of an Afghan national accused of shooting two National Guard troops near the White House over the Thanksgiving weekend.
U.S. officials say the move is part of broader efforts to strengthen immigration screening and national security.
Under the new policy, citizens of Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan and Syria are now barred from entering the United States. Travel has also been fully restricted for holders of Palestinian Authority–issued travel documents.
Zimbabwe is among 15 countries newly placed under partial restrictions, alongside Angola, Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania and Zambia, among others. These limits may affect certain visa categories and increase scrutiny for travellers.
The ban builds on a June announcement by President Donald Trump that revived a key policy from his first term, initially blocking entry from 12 countries and imposing restrictions on seven others.
The U.S. administration said the countries targeted in the expansion were selected because of concerns including corruption, unreliable civil documentation, high visa overstay rates, and limited cooperation with U.S. deportation efforts.
It also cited political instability in some states as a factor making security vetting more difficult.
Zimbabwean travellers are now expected to face stricter screening requirements when applying for U.S. visas, though the administration has not detailed how the partial restrictions will be applied in practice.
