US Politician Introduces Bill to Permanently Ban Travel From 39 Countries
- Republican Rep. Nancy Mace introduced the Third World Immigration Moratorium Act, seeking to make travel restrictions permanent law
- The bill targets 39 countries across Africa, the Caribbean and the Middle East, citing national security concerns and visa overstays
- The legislation also proposes blocking entry into the country for individuals travelling on Palestinian Authority-issued documents
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Republican Congresswoman Nancy Mace of South Carolina has introduced legislation that would permanently bar nationals from 39 countries from entering the United States.
The bill, named the Third World Immigration Moratorium Act, was introduced on July 15, 2026, and covers nations across Africa, the Caribbean and the Middle East.
Source: Getty Images
According to Fox News, countries named in the act include Afghanistan, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burma, Burundi, Chad, Cote d'Ivoire, Cuba, Dominica, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Gabon, Gambia, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Republic of the Congo, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Togo, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Venezuela, Yemen, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The bill would additionally bar entry to anyone travelling on Palestinian Authority-issued documents.
Republican representative argues in favour of travel bans
Rep. Mace argued that the measure is necessary on national security grounds, contending that immigrants from the affected countries have broadly failed to integrate into American society.
"For too long, Washington has looked the other way while bad actors exploited every gap in our system and American families paid the price. Those days are over," she said in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital.
"If you import the third world, you will become the third world. This bill makes crystal clear: entry into the United States is a privilege, not a right. We make absolutely no apologies for defending it."
Under the terms of the bill, the Secretary of Homeland Security would retain the authority to issue individual waivers where admitting a specific person is determined to serve the country's 'critical interest'.
The proposal follows the Trump administration's decision in June 2025 to reinstate a travel ban on 12 countries, a move prompted in part by the arrest of an Egyptian national charged in connection with a deadly firebombing attack in Boulder, Colorado, targeting demonstrators calling for the release of hostages in Gaza.
Mace's legislation mirrors the full list of countries currently subject to full or partial restrictions under the Trump administration, effectively seeking to make those measures permanent through an act of Congress rather than an executive order.
The bill is facing significant obstacles on Capitol Hill.
Opposition is expected from Democrats and several Republicans who support legal immigration pathways from several of the countries included on the list, making its passage through the House uncertain.
Below is the Fox News Facebook post on the proposed travel ban.
US employers ordered to dismiss immigrant workers
YEN.com.gh also previously reported that the US Department of Homeland Security had instructed employers across the country to prepare to dismiss hundreds of thousands of workers who hold Temporary Protected Status.
Notices by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services indicated that work authorisation for Haitians expires on July 24, while permits for workers from Ethiopia, Myanmar, Somalia, South Sudan, Syria, and Yemen lapsed on July 17.
Proofreading by Bruce Douglas, copy editor at YEN.com.gh.
Source: YEN.com.gh
