Global Refuge Deeply Alarmed by Expansion of Sweeping Travel Ban

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December 16, 2025

Baltimore, Md. — Global Refuge strongly condemns the Trump administration’s decision to dramatically expand its travel ban, escalating a policy first announced in June that already restricted entry for nationals from 19 countries. Today’s proclamation broadens those restrictions to 39 countries worldwide, further limiting lawful travel and migration through a sweeping mix of full and partial entry bans.

The expanded restrictions now fully bar entry for nationals of five additional countries — Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan, and Syria — and impose new partial or full limitations on individuals from Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Dominica, Gabon, The Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The proclamation also newly restricts entry for individuals holding Palestinian Authority–issued travel documents.

“The administration is once again using the language of security to justify blanket exclusions that punish entire populations, rather than utilizing individualized, evidence-based screening,” said Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, President and CEO of Global Refuge. “This move significantly expands the scope of the original travel ban, ensnaring families, students, workers, and people fleeing violence – many of whom have longstanding ties to the United States.”

Global Refuge is particularly alarmed by the continued and added inclusion of countries experiencing active conflict, humanitarian crises, or widespread persecution, such as Afghanistan, Sudan, South Sudan, Syria, and Haiti.

“With the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program and alternative legal pathways narrowing, many at-risk individuals, including journalists, religious minorities, and human trafficking survivors, are being left with no viable route to safety,” added Vignarajah. “Closing legal pathways does not eliminate need or risk; it simply pushes people further into harm’s way.”

Global Refuge urges policymakers to reverse this expansion and instead invest in rigorous, individualized vetting systems that protect national security while preserving due process, family unity, and the United States’ longstanding commitment to offering refuge to those in need.

“Security is essential, but it demands precision,” concluded Vignarajah. “Blanket bans only serve to weaken our system by replacing careful vetting with collective punishment.”