The United States has expanded its travel restrictions to prohibit entry for individuals holding Palestinian Authority passports, adding them to a growing list of foreign nationals barred or restricted from entering the country amid heightened security concerns.
The updated policy, which takes effect January 1, 2026, imposes full entry bans on citizens of Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan, and Syria, extending a June decision that applied bans to 12 countries and partial restrictions to seven others, according to reports.
In announcing the expansion, the White House said the measures are intended “to protect the security of the United States.” A fact sheet accompanying the announcement cited widespread corruption, unreliable civil documentation, and terrorism concerns in several of the affected countries, arguing that such conditions undermine the ability of U.S. authorities to conduct reliable background checks.
With respect to Palestinian Authority passport holders, the administration pointed to the ongoing conflict in Gaza and the presence of militant groups operating in Palestinian territories. “Several US-designated terrorist groups operate actively in the West Bank or Gaza Strip and have murdered American citizens,” the document states. “Also, the recent war in these areas likely resulted in compromised vetting and screening abilities.”
The fact sheet further explained: “In light of these factors, and considering the weak or nonexistent control exercised over these areas by the PA, individuals attempting to travel on PA-issued or endorsed travel documents cannot currently be properly vetted and approved for entry into the United States.”
Palestinian Authority passports are primarily issued to residents of Gaza, while many Palestinians in the West Bank travel on Jordanian citizenship documents, a distinction that affects how the new restrictions will be applied in practice.
In addition to the full bans, the administration placed 15 countries under heightened scrutiny and partial restrictions, including Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Dominica, Gabon, Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Full travel bans remain in place for Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.
The expansion is part of a broader tightening of U.S. immigration policy and follows several high-profile security incidents, including the arrest of an Afghan national tied to an attack on U.S. troops. While travel bans imposed during President Trump’s first term sparked widespread protests and legal challenges, reaction to the latest expansion has been comparatively muted.
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