US travel bans and Somalis

What did the first order of January 2017 do?

Executive Order 13769 was signed on 27 January 2017 (Executive Order 13769, 82 FR 8977, GovInfo). It suspended entry from seven countries, Somalia among them, for 90 days (same source). It also suspended the US refugee programme for 120 days and set the FY2017 refugee cap at 50,000 (same source).

A federal court in Washington State blocked the order, and the Ninth Circuit refused to restore it in Washington v. Trump, 847 F.3d 1151 (Trump v. Hawaii, opinion of the Court, Cornell LII).

What changed in the March 2017 order?

Executive Order 13780 was signed on 6 March 2017 and replaced the first order (Executive Order 13780, 82 FR 13209, GovInfo). It covered six countries for 90 days, including Somalia (same source).

The order said "portions of Somalia have been terrorist safe havens" (EO 13780, GovInfo). It also said most countries do not recognise Somali identity documents (same source).

Courts in Maryland and Hawaii blocked the order, and two appeals courts upheld those injunctions (Trump v. Hawaii, Cornell LII). In June 2017 the Supreme Court let the order apply to people without a "bona fide relationship" with a US person or entity (same source). The order expired, and the Court vacated those cases as moot (same source).

What did Proclamation 9645 say about Somalia?

Proclamation 9645 was signed on 24 September 2017 and covered eight countries (Proclamation 9645, 82 FR 45161, GovInfo). In its section on Somalia, it said the country met the information-sharing baseline (same source). It added that Somalia had "significant identity-management deficiencies" (same source).

For Somali nationals, the proclamation suspended entry as immigrants (Proclamation 9645, GovInfo). Visitor and other nonimmigrant visa applications were to receive "additional scrutiny" (same source).

The Supreme Court let the proclamation take full effect on 4 December 2017, a State Department letter to a senator noted (State Department letter, 22 February 2018, via AILA).

What did the Supreme Court decide in Trump v. Hawaii?

The Court decided Trump v. Hawaii, 585 U.S. 667, on 26 June 2018, by five votes to four (Trump v. Hawaii, Cornell LII). Chief Justice Roberts wrote that the President had lawfully used his power under 8 U.S.C. §1182(f) (same source). The majority held that the challengers had not shown a likely Establishment Clause violation (same source).

Justice Breyer, joined by Justice Kagan, dissented and questioned how the waiver system worked (Trump v. Hawaii, Breyer dissent, Cornell LII). Justice Sotomayor, joined by Justice Ginsburg, wrote a separate dissent (same source).

How were Somali visas affected?

Justice Breyer's dissent cited State Department data on Somalis (Breyer dissent, Cornell LII). It said no student visas went to Somali nationals from January to March 2018 (same source). It said only 40 nonimmigrant visas went to Somalis in that period, 65% fewer than in 2016 (same source).

Immigrant visas to Somalis fell from 1,797 in FY2016 to 546 in FY2018, a drop of 70% (Forbes, Stuart Anderson, 11 March 2019). The figures came from the National Foundation for American Policy's analysis of State Department data (same source).

How many waivers were granted?

From 8 December 2017 to 8 January 2018, 8,406 people from all eight countries applied, the State Department told a senator (State Department letter, via AILA). It said 6,282 did not meet the waiver criteria and 271 were being considered (same source). Two waivers had been approved by 15 February 2018 (same source).

The State Department's September 2019 report said 55,135 applicants had been considered for a waiver (State Department, Proclamation 9645 report, September 2019). It said 9,473 visas had been issued under waivers (same source).

How did refugee arrivals from Somalia change?

In October 2017, Executive Order 13815 set extra review for refugees (Executive Order 13815, 82 FR 50055, GovInfo). Reuters reported a 90-day review for eleven countries, including Somalia, and a pause on follow-to-join cases (CNBC, from Reuters, 24 October 2017). Reuters said the eleven made up 44% of about 54,000 refugees in FY2017 (same source).

Somali refugee arrivals by fiscal year, from the State Department's Refugee Processing Center (RPC, FY2016 arrivals by nationality):

• FY2016: 9,020 (RPC FY2016).
• FY2017: 6,130 (RPC FY2017).
• FY2018: 257 (RPC FY2018).
• FY2019: 231 (RPC FY2019).
• FY2020: 149 (RPC FY2020).

Justice Breyer's dissent said 122 Somali refugees had been admitted from January 2018 (Breyer dissent, Cornell LII). For arrivals in every year since 1990, see United States (Somali diaspora).

How were the bans expanded in 2020 and repealed in 2021?

Proclamation 9983 of 31 January 2020 added six countries: Burma, Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Nigeria, Sudan and Tanzania (Proclamation 9983, 85 FR 6699, GovInfo).

On 20 January 2021, Proclamation 10141 revoked EO 13780 and Proclamations 9645, 9723 and 9983 (Proclamation 10141, 86 FR 7005, GovInfo). It told the State Department to resume visa processing for the countries concerned (same source). It asked for a report within 45 days on reconsidering immigrant visa applications refused under Proclamations 9645 and 9983 (same source).

Somali refugee arrivals were about 200 in 2021, 490 in 2022, 1,410 in 2023 and 4,790 in 2024, by DHS's rounded count (DHS Yearbook 2024, table 14).

What restrictions apply from 2025?

Executive Order 14163 of 20 January 2025 suspended refugee admissions, the Congressional Research Service said (CRS, IF13277, July 2026). RPC data record 2,496 Somali arrivals in FY2025 (RPC FY2025, as of 30 September 2025).

Proclamation 10949 was signed on 4 June 2025 and took effect on 9 June (Proclamation 10949, 90 FR 24497, GovInfo). It fully suspended entry of Somali immigrants and nonimmigrants (same source). It said Somalia "lacks a competent or cooperative central authority" and had "historically refused to accept back its removable nationals" (same source).

Somalia's ambassador in Washington, Dahir Hassan Abdi, said Somalia was ready for constructive dialogue (Goobjoog News, June 2025). Proclamation 10949 had exceptions for immediate-family immigrant visas with clear evidence such as DNA (Proclamation 10949, GovInfo).

What has applied since 1 January 2026?

Proclamation 10998 was signed on 16 December 2025 and took effect on 1 January 2026 (Proclamation 10998, 90 FR 59717, GovInfo). It kept the full suspension for twelve countries, Somalia among them (same source). Its new exceptions list does not include the immediate-family visa exception (same source).

USCIS put a hold on pending benefit requests from people born in or citizens of the listed countries (USCIS PM-602-0194, 1 January 2026, via AILA). It ordered a re-review of approvals made on or after 20 January 2021 (same source). A footnote leaves Somalia and Yemen out of the exception for certificates of citizenship (same source).

A March 2026 USCIS update said the two proclamations restrict 39 countries in all (USCIS update, 30 March 2026, via AILA). It described Operation PARRIS, a re-review of refugee claims (same source).

What other limits apply in 2026?

From 21 January 2026 the State Department paused immigrant visas for 75 countries, Somalia among them, CBS reported (CBS News, 14 January 2026). On 22 August 2026 a federal judge in New York vacated that pause (PBS NewsHour, from AP, 22 August 2026). Proclamation 10998 still applies to Somali nationals (Proclamation 10998, GovInfo).

The FY2026 refugee ceiling was 7,500, mainly for Afrikaners from South Africa (Presidential determination, FY2026, GovInfo). An emergency determination raised it to 17,500 (Emergency determination, GovInfo). The FY2027 ceiling is also 17,500, again mainly for Afrikaners (Presidential determination, FY2027, GovInfo).

RPC data record no Somali refugee arrivals in FY2026 (RPC FY2026, as of 30 September 2026). Of 16,292 arrivals that year, 16,287 came from South Africa and 5 from Afghanistan (same source).

Related pages

• United States (Somali diaspora)
• Minneapolis–St Paul
• Refugee papers and status
• Family reunification and DNA tests
• Somali refugees by the numbers
• Deportations and returns

Sources

1. Executive Order 13769, 82 FR 8977, 1 February 2017. govinfo.gov. Checked 12 November 2026.
2. Executive Order 13780, 82 FR 13209, 9 March 2017. govinfo.gov. Checked 12 November 2026.
3. Proclamation 9645, 82 FR 45161, 27 September 2017. govinfo.gov. Checked 12 November 2026.
4. Executive Order 13815, 82 FR 50055, 27 October 2017. govinfo.gov. Checked 12 November 2026.
5. Supreme Court of the United States. Trump v. Hawaii, 585 U.S. 667 (2018), opinion and dissents. law.cornell.edu. Checked 12 November 2026.
6. US Department of State, letter to a US senator on Proclamation 9645 waivers, 22 February 2018, via AILA. aila.org. Checked 12 November 2026.
7. US Department of State. "Presidential Proclamation 9645 Report", September 2019. travel.state.gov. Checked 12 November 2026.
8. Forbes, Stuart Anderson. "Muslim Travel Ban: Less Immigration And Few Waivers." 11 March 2019. forbes.com. Checked 12 November 2026.
9. CNBC, from Reuters. "US resumes refugee admissions, 11 countries excluded." 24 October 2017. cnbc.com. Checked 12 November 2026.
10. Refugee Processing Center (US Department of State). Arrivals by state and nationality, FY2016 to FY2020. rpc.state.gov. Checked 12 November 2026.
11. Refugee Processing Center. Arrivals by state and nationality, FY2025 and FY2026, as of 30 September. rpc.state.gov. Checked 12 November 2026.
12. US Department of Homeland Security. Yearbook of Immigration Statistics 2024, table 14. ohss.dhs.gov. Checked 12 November 2026.
13. Proclamation 9983, 85 FR 6699, 5 February 2020. govinfo.gov. Checked 12 November 2026.
14. Proclamation 10141, "Ending Discriminatory Bans on Entry to the United States", 86 FR 7005, 25 January 2021. govinfo.gov. Checked 12 November 2026.
15. Congressional Research Service. "U.S. Refugee Admissions Program in FY2025 and FY2026." IF13277, July 2026. everycrsreport.com. Checked 12 November 2026.
16. Proclamation 10949, 90 FR 24497, 10 June 2025. govinfo.gov. Checked 12 November 2026.
17. Goobjoog News. "Somalia urges dialogue after U.S. travel ban targets its citizens." June 2025. goobjoog.com. Checked 12 November 2026.
18. Proclamation 10998, 90 FR 59717, 19 December 2025. govinfo.gov. Checked 12 November 2026.
19. USCIS. Policy Memorandum PM-602-0194, 1 January 2026, via AILA. aila.org. Checked 12 November 2026.
20. USCIS. Update on the policy memoranda, 30 March 2026, via AILA. aila.org. Checked 12 November 2026.
21. CBS News. "Trump administration to suspend immigrant visas for nationals of 75 countries." 14 January 2026. cbsnews.com. Checked 12 November 2026.
22. PBS NewsHour, from AP. "Federal judge vacates Trump policy that suspended processing of immigration visas from 75 countries." 22 August 2026. pbs.org. Checked 12 November 2026.
23. Presidential determinations on refugee admissions: FY2026 (31 October 2025), emergency determination (27 May 2026) and FY2027 (2 October 2026). govinfo.gov. Checked 12 November 2026.