• The US plans to expand its travel ban to cover more than 30 countries.
• Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed the plan on Fox News.
• The move follows security concerns linked to immigrants from certain countries.
• Previous bans included citizens from 12 countries and restrictions from seven others.
• This expansion reflects ongoing immigration policy changes under the Trump administration.

The United States is preparing to expand its travel ban to include over 30 countries, as confirmed by US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem during an interview on Fox News' "The Ingraham Angle." She refrained from confirming an exact number but stated, "It's over 30, and the president is continuing to evaluate countries," indicating a review of national security concerns associated with immigration from unstable regions, according to Indiatimes, Dawn, and Reuters.

The travel ban currently prohibits citizens from 12 countries from entering the US and imposes restrictions on seven others, a measure initially implemented by President Donald Trump in response to concerns about "foreign terrorists" and related security threats. As reported by multiple sources, these restrictions apply to immigrants as well as non-immigrants, including tourists and students, according to Indiatimes, Dawn, and Reuters.

Noem specified criteria for the potential new bans, questioning, "If they don’t have a stable government there, if they don’t have a country that can sustain itself and tell us who those individuals are and help us vet them, why should we allow people from that country to come here to the United States?" This measure comes as a reaction to a recent incident involving a shooting by an Afghan national, raising concerns about immigration vetting processes, according to Indiatimes, Dawn, and Reuters.

Preceding this announcement, the Trump administration had been reviewing asylum cases from the Biden administration and considering changes to immigration policies overall, including a potential ban on citizens from 36 more countries. Since taking office again in January, Trump has intensified immigration enforcement efforts, including deportations and limiting asylum seekers at the US-Mexico border, highlighting a shift towards stricter immigration protocols, as noted in Indiatimes, Dawn, and Reuters.