Trump travel ban could expand to 30 countries after DC National Guard shooting – list coming ‘soon’
The Trump administration is weighing a broadening of its travel ban, potentially adding more than 30 countries to the list that were already in place. A source told The Post that the president is looking to include at least those 30 nations, but may expand the list further down the line. “We will be announcing the list soon,” a spokesperson from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said.
On Monday night, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem hinted on X that she proposed a “full travel ban” during an evening meeting with President Trump. She recommended that the list should feature “every damn country that’s been flooding our nation with killers, leeches, and entitlement junkies.”
Noem went on to say, “OUR forefathers built this nation on blood, sweat, and the unyielding love of freedom — not for foreign invaders to slaughter our heroes, suck dry our hard‑earned tax dollars, or snatch the benefits owed to AMERICANS,” adding, “WE DON’T WANT THEM. NOT ONE.”
These proposals come on the heels of the Thanksgiving‑eve attack in Washington, DC, in which an Afghan national allegedly shot and killed a 20‑year‑old woman and critically wounded a 24‑year‑old man near the White House. The administration has previously announced it will pause all asylum determinations and re‑examine more than 720,000 green‑card holders from 19 “countries of concern.” The State Department has also halted visa issuance for individuals traveling on Afghan passports.
The Afghan suspect, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, entered the United States legally in 2021 through the Biden administration’s Operation Allies Welcome, which rescued refugees after the U.S. withdrawal. He secured asylum in April, making him eligible for a green card after one year.
US Citizenship and Immigration Services has reportedly stopped naturalization ceremonies for people from some of the 19 countries on the current travel‑ban list, a move that was highlighted in the week’s news cycle. At least one ceremony for a Venezuelan, an Iranian, and an Afghan, originally scheduled later this week, was canceled following the National Guard shooting, according to ABC News.
A DHS spokesperson told The Post that the Trump team is “making every effort to ensure individuals becoming citizens are the best of the best. Citizenship is a privilege, not a right. We will take no chances when the future of our nation is at stake.” The spokesperson also mentioned that the administration is reviewing all immigration benefits awarded by the Biden administration to aliens from the designated “Countries of Concern.”
In June, Trump signed a proclamation that “fully restricts and limits the entry of nationals” from 12 countries—Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. A separate directive partially restricted entry from seven additional nations—Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela. Shortly afterward, Trump signed a 19‑nation travel‑ban order, which was issued in the wake of an antisemitic fire‑bombing in Colorado believed to have been carried out by an Egyptian national on an expired tourist visa.
During a White House cabinet meeting on Tuesday, President Trump singled out Somali immigrants, claiming they had defrauded Minnesota for “billions of dollars” and asserting, “They contribute nothing. I don’t want them in our country.” Secretary Noem reported that she investigated visa fraud in Minnesota and found that “50% of them are fraudulent.” The DHS pledged, “We’re going to remove them and get our money back,” claiming that fraudulent visa holders had siphoned off “hundreds of billions of dollars” in taxpayer‑funded benefits.
In response to the Somali‑specific crackdown, the Trump administration is reportedly launching an “intensive immigration enforcement operation” in Minneapolis and St. Paul, home to a significant Somali community, as reported by the New York Times. The administration also ended temporary protected status—deportation protection and work permits—for Somali migrants, marking another step in its broader immigration strategy.
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