Presidential Proclamation Expands “Muslim Ban” to Six Additional Countries

February 6, 2020

On January 31, 2020, the President Trump issued a proclamation expanding the ban on travel from several predominantly Muslim countries to include six new countries: Burma (Myanmar), Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Nigeria, Sudan, and Tanzania. These six countries join the seven nations -- Iran, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Venezuela and North Korea -- enumerated in earlier iterations of the ban, which were upheld by the Supreme Court in 2018.  

The new proclamation is set to take effect February 21, 2020, and contains provisions for review by the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of State, beginning October 1, 2020, and annually thereafter. Meanwhile, lawmakers in the House Judiciary Committee criticized the expansion of the ban and will soon markup H.R. 2214, the National Origin-Based Antidiscrimination for Nonimmigrants (NO BAN) Act. This legislation would, among other things, repeal the Muslim ban if passed.