US President Donald Trump has placed Libya among 19 countries whose citizens would be permanently barred from immigrating to the United States under a sweeping new policy announcement that has already prompted intense political and international reactions.
The US Department of Homeland Security confirmed that the countries referenced in Trump’s late-night declaration are those listed under an expanded travel-restriction framework, targeting several African, Middle Eastern, Asian, and Caribbean states.
Trump made the announcement on Friday night on Truth Social, stating that he would “permanently stop immigration from all third-world countries,” without immediately clarifying which nations he meant.
Minutes later, he issued further statements promising to cancel what he described as “illegal entry approvals” made under previous administrations, sharply reduce what he called “illegal and destructive populations,” eliminate federal benefits for non-citizens, and deport foreigners he claimed do not align with “Western civilization.”
The remarks followed an incident in which an Afghan national shot two National Guard members near the White House, killing one. Trump used the killing to justify imposing broad new immigration restrictions, repeating themes that defined his earlier policies as president.
Homeland Security later confirmed the 19 countries: Libya, Sudan, Yemen, Somalia, Iran, Afghanistan, Burma (Myanmar), Burundi, Chad, Cuba, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela. While many were previously included in earlier iterations of Trump’s travel bans, the newly announced freeze is broader in both tone and scope.
Trump’s language drew immediate criticism from political opponents, civil rights organizations, and immigration experts, who accused him of promoting discriminatory narratives and using inflammatory language to justify restrictive policies. Analysts noted that characterizing immigrants as coming from “failed states” or as “burdens” echoes rhetoric used during his earlier immigration battles.