Trump Set to Expand Travel Ban to 30 More Countries After Fatal D.C. Shooting

The Trump administration has unveiled plans to dramatically expand its travel ban to encompass approximately 30 additional countries, intensifying immigration restrictions in direct response to the fatal shooting of two National Guard members in Washington last week. The attack, which claimed the life of 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom and left fellow Guardsman Andrew Wolfe in critical condition, was carried out by 29-year-old Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a former CIA collaborator who entered the United States in 2021.

President Donald Trump and his allies have squarely blamed the preceding Biden administration for inadequate vetting during the Afghan evacuation, prompting swift retaliatory measures including an immediate suspension of all Afghan visas and a freeze on asylum processing for nationals from the region. The Department of Homeland Security, under Secretary Kristi Noem, is preparing a comprehensive list of targeted nations—primarily developing countries perceived as high-risk for security threats—expected to be announced imminently.

Currently, a complete travel ban bars entry from 12 nations: Afghanistan, Chad, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Myanmar, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. Partial restrictions already apply to seven others: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela. The expansion will build on these, with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) instituting a nationwide pause on all green card applications and other immigration requests from the 19 restricted countries, alongside a rigorous re-review of approvals granted since the Biden era.

Also Read: ‘I Should Get Eight Nobel Prizes’: Trump Repeats Claim of Mediating India-Pakistan Ceasefire

Noem, in a pointed statement on X, urged a total ban on "every damn country that’s been flooding our nation with killers, leeches, and entitlement junkies," reflecting the administration's unyielding stance on border security. This follows Trump's earlier reinstatement of the travel ban, which withstood Supreme Court scrutiny as a valid exercise of presidential authority, and aligns with broader policy overhauls such as slashing refugee caps, terminating temporary protected status for multiple nations, and imposing steep fees on H-1B visas.

The sweeping reforms, first detailed by CBS News, underscore a preemptive escalation in immigration enforcement, with Trump previously vowing via social media to "permanently" halt migration from "all Third World Countries." As federal agencies revoke thousands of existing visas and scrutinize naturalized citizens for potential deportation, the measures signal a profound shift toward fortified national borders, prioritising security over humanitarian inflows amid heightened post-attack tensions.

Also Read: Escalating Nuclear Threats: Trump and Putin Push the World Toward a Dangerous New Nuclear Arms Race