Trump adds 7 more countries to travel ban

US President Donald Trump has added seven more countries and territories to the list of travel bans in the United States. As a result of this decision, citizens of the listed countries will not be able to enter the United States.

The announcement was made by the White House on Tuesday (December 17). The British news agency Reuters reported that several countries and territories in the Middle East and Africa have been newly included in the ban.

A White House statement said that President Trump signed a proclamation. The entry ban has been further expanded and strengthened on countries whose citizens have serious and consistent deficiencies in the vetting, screening and information sharing, considering the risk to national security and public safety.

According to Tuesday's decision, holders of travel documents issued by Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan, Syria and the Palestinian Authority have been banned from entering the United States. At the same time, full restrictions have been imposed on Laos and Sierra Leone, which were previously subject to partial restrictions.

The White House said that the expanded travel ban will take effect on January 1.

The decision comes at a time when Trump pledged to help Syria become a successful state after talks with Syrian President Ahmed al-Shara in November. Al-Shara, a former al-Qaeda commander previously on Washington's blacklist, has recently tried to present himself as a moderate leader on the international stage.

However, on Saturday, two US soldiers and a civilian interpreter were killed in a suspected IS attack in Syria. The attack was carried out on a convoy of US and Syrian forces. After the incident, Trump called it "terrible" and vowed to retaliate.

While explaining the rationale for the ban, the White House also mentioned Syria's high visa overstay rate. The statement said that due to the long civil war and instability, Syria still does not have an effective central authority to issue passports and civil documents and proper verification systems are absent.

Earlier in June, Trump imposed a full ban on citizens of 12 countries entering the United States and imposed partial bans on seven more. Those bans are still in place. In addition, partial bans and entry restrictions have been imposed on 15 more countries, including Nigeria.

President Trump has made immigration control a priority since returning to power in January. His administration has taken a number of tough measures, including deploying federal agents in major cities and turning back asylum seekers at the US-Mexico border.

Trump has signaled a tougher stance on immigration policy after the recent shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, D.C. Investigators said the attacker was an Afghan national who entered the United States under a resettlement program without adequate verification. After the incident, Trump pledged to “permanently stop immigration from all third world countries.”