After President Trump expanded immigration restrictions on third-world countries last month, the new ban has just officially gone into effect.

The Department of Homeland Security announced that all immigration has been paused from 20 countries, primarily in Africa.

That includes applications for visas and green cards, as well as asylum and citizenship.

Here’s the map of countries that the ban applies to:

And, here’s the full list:

  • Angola
  • Antigua and Barbuda
  • Benin
  • Burundi
  • Cote d’Ivoire
  • Cuba
  • Dominica
  • Gabon
  • The Gambia
  • Malawi
  • Mauritania
  • Nigeria
  • Senegal
  • Tanzania
  • Togo
  • Tonga
  • Turkmenistan
  • Venezuela
  • Zambia
  • Zimbabwe

These 20 countries are in addition to President Trump’s original ban on 19 third-world countries.

For reference, here’s the list of other countries that President Trump ordered a full immigration ban on:

  • Afghanistan
  • Burkina Faso
  • Burma (Myanmar)
  • Chad
  • Republic of the Congo
  • Equatorial Guinea
  • Eritrea
  • Haiti
  • Iran
  • Laos
  • Libya
  • Mali
  • Niger
  • Sierra Leone
  • Somalia
  • South Sudan
  • Sudan
  • Syria
  • Yemen

President Trump first imposed the ban after the horrific terror attack on National Guard members in November by an Afghan nation.

NPR has more on the specifics:

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, or USCIS, in a memo released Thursday, said it would pause the review of all pending applications for visas, green cards, citizenship or asylum from immigrants from the additional countries. The memo also outlines plans to re-review applications of immigrants from these countries as far back as 2021.

The list, which is composed mostly of countries in Africa, includes Angola, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.

Last month, the Trump administration expanded the list of countries with travel restrictions to the U.S. from 19 to 39, plus the Palestinian Authority. The move comes as the administration is bringing sharper scrutiny of those who have followed legal steps to seek permanent status in the U.S.

“USCIS remains dedicated to ensuring aliens from high-risk countries of concern who have entered the United States do not pose risks to national security or public safety,” the memo states as rational for the pause and reviews. “To faithfully uphold United States immigration law, the flow of aliens from countries with high overstay rates, significant fraud, or both must stop.”

There are some exceptions outlined in the memo, including athletes and members of their teams competing in the World Cup and Olympics.



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