By Aleena Fayaz, CNN
(CNN) — President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed a proclamation expanding the list of countries with full or partial travel restrictions to 39, increasing from the previous list of 19 countries, according to the White House.
The proclamation adds seven new countries to the full travel ban list: Laos, Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan and Syria. Laos and Sierra Leone had previously been subject to partial restrictions.
The expanded list also includes 15 new countries facing partial restrictions: Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Dominica, Gabon, The Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
CNN first reported earlier this month Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem recommended the Trump administration expand the list to between 30 to 32 countries.
Nationals of countries on the list face restrictions on travel to the United States. The White House said the listed countries demonstrate “severe deficiencies in screening, vetting, and information-sharing.”
The Tuesday proclamation also applies travel limitations on individuals holding Palestinian Authority-issued travel documents, and it lifts a ban on nonimmigrant visas for citizens of Turkmenistan, “while still maintaining suspended entry for Turkmen nationals.”
The proclamation makes exceptions for lawful permanent residents, existing visa holders, certain visa categories and individuals whose entry serves US national interests.
The official expansion comes as President Donald Trump has ramped up his immigration crackdown citing the shooting in Washington, DC, that killed one National Guard member and critically wounded another.
The shooting suspect, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, is an Afghan national who previously worked with the US in Afghanistan, resettling in Washington state under the Biden administration and then being granted asylum under the Trump administration.
Trump has since halted or significantly tightened every legal and illegal form of foreign entry into the US, in addition to his ongoing mass deportation campaign. Other policy shifts include a pause on asylum decisions, a review of cases under the Biden administration, and a “reexamination” of certain green-card holders.
In his first term, Trump barred travelers from seven majority-Muslim nations from coming to the US, a policy that saw court challenges. The Supreme Court upheld the third version of Trump’s travel ban that was issued in 2017. It restricted entry in varying degrees from Iran, North Korea, Syria, Libya, Yemen, Somalia and Venezuela.
President Joe Biden ultimately repealed it when he took office in 2021.
With Trump’s Tuesday proclamation, the 39 countries with full or partial restrictions are Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, Venezuela, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan, Syria, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Dominica, Gabon, The Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Sen