Trump has placed seven countries, including Syria, on a list of total entry bans

US President Trump has expanded the list of countries subject to full and partial entry restrictions, adding citizens from seven more countries, including Syrian citizens, to the full entry restriction list.

According to reports from Bloomberg and Reuters, Trump signed an announcement on Tuesday (December 16), expanding the number of countries previously subject to comprehensive and partial entry restrictions by the US from 19 to 40. The White House said that the expanded entry restrictions will come into effect on January 1, 2026.

The White House said in a statement that Trump signed a proclamation "to expand and strengthen entry restrictions on citizens from countries that have obvious, persistent and serious deficiencies in screening, censorship and information sharing, in order to protect the United States from threats to national and public security."

Trump has decided to ban citizens from Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan and Syria, as well as individuals holding travel documents issued by the Palestinian National Authority, from entering the country.

Trump also imposed partial restrictions and entry restrictions on another 15 countries.

The White House said in a situation statement that the Trump administration had previously imposed comprehensive entry restrictions on citizens of 12 countries and partial entry restrictions on citizens of seven countries. The 12 countries identified as "high-risk" are Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.

Laos and Sierra Leone, which had previously been subject to partial entry restrictions, are now also completely banned from entering the United States.

After the fall of the Assad regime in Syria in December last year, Salah, who became the president of Syria from the rebel leader, received support from Trump. Last month, Sarah met with Trump at the White House, becoming the first Syrian president to visit the White House since Syria's independence in 1946.

But on December 13th, after two US soldiers and an American civilian serving as an interpreter were ambushed and killed in Syria, Trump vowed to take "very severe retaliatory actions".

When explaining the reasons for imposing an entry ban on Syria, the White House mentioned the high overstay rate of Syrian citizens.

The White House said, "Syria is gradually recovering from long-term civil unrest and internal conflicts." Although Syria is closely cooperating with the United States to address security challenges, it still lacks a central authority for issuing passports or civil documents, nor does it have appropriate review and verification measures.

In June this year, the Trump administration announced comprehensive entry restrictions for citizens of 12 countries including Afghanistan, Myanmar and Chad on the grounds of "national security", and partial entry restrictions for citizens of seven countries including Burundi, Cuba and Laos.