Retaliating to US President Donald Trump’s expanded travel ban on certain countries, Niger, a West African nation, has imposed a ban on issuing visas to US citizens, according to a Niger News Agency (Agence Nigerienne de Presse – ANP) report published on Thursday (US time).

The report went on to cite a diplomatic source for Niger, saying the country has “completely and permanently halted the issuance of visas to all US citizens and has indefinitely barred US nationals from entering its territory.

The major revelation comes hot on the heels of American President Trump adding 20 more countries to his travel restrictions proclamation, which originally imposed a travel ban or restrictions on nationals from 19 countries. Therein, Niger was hit with the full extent of restrictions that were announced after a series of shootings involving foreign nationals as the suspected gunmen.

Consequently, the source cited by ANP suggested that Niger’s decision was based on reciprocating America’s actions. Moreover, it reflected a diplomatic stance focussed on safeguarding national sovereignty, while also pointing towards an evolution in the African nation’s capital Niamey’s foreign policy.

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MAGA trolls Niger’s visa ban on US citizens

A flurry of sarcastic comments and tweets dripping with mockery soon took over the social media platform X. Once certain news reporting accounts spread the word about Niger’s retaliatory measures, even conservative commentators affiliated with Trump’s ‘Make America Great Again’ (MAGA) agenda were quick to unload their unfiltered thoughts online.

“JUST IN: The African nation of NIGER announces they will NO LONGER issue visas to American citizens following President Trump’s actions,” right-wing influencer and Trump supporter Nick Sortor wrote on X.

He continued his derogatory message, writing, “Oh NO!!! How will our country make it?!? We can no longer visit Niger??! (laughing emoticon) (clown emoticon)”

Laura Loomer, a far-right political activist and conspiracy theorist (whom even The New Yorker described as “President’s self-appointed loyalty enforcer”), also took to her X profile to share an even more ill-worded message rife with racist stereotypes.

“Oh no. How will I survive not getting explosive diarrhea and not being surrounded by people who are infected with AIDS and HIV?” she said on X.

Some users on X couldn’t take it, and called out the MAGA camp members for their downright “elitist” and “tone-deaf” tweets. Another user added, “Congrats, Laura, your racist mockery of a poor African nation just proved their point about American arrogance.”

Expanded Trump travel ban explained: Niger included

As per the June travel ban, a total of 19 nations were split into categories. 12 of them (Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen) were hit with a ban on all non-immigrant and immigrant visas.

On the other hand, the 7 remaining (Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela) were hit with a ban on all immigrant visas, alongside other travel restrictions relating to tourist, student and exchange visitor visas.

Thereafter, Trump added 20 more countries to the list, bringing the total to 39 nations in a December 16 proclamation. Set to take effect January 1, 2026, this development also ended up including the African nation of Niger.

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As a result, entries of immigrants and nonimmigrants from the following countries will be considered “fully suspended”: Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Mali, Niger, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen, as per the official US Congress website.

Meanwhile, entry of nationals of these 20 countries will be deemed “partially suspended”: Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Burundi, Cote d’Ivoire, Cuba, Dominica, Gabon, The Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Togo, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Venezuela, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

With the exception of Turkmenistan, the entry of immigrants is suspended for these countries, along with the entry of nonimmigrants on B visas (visitors for business or tourism), F visas (academic students), M visas (vocational students), and J Visas (exchange visitors).

Even before imposing the travel ban on Niger, the US State Department’s Travel Advisory report had advised Americans against travelling to the African nation. As per an advisory issued October 31, 2025, Niger has been red-flagged as a ‘Level 4: Do Not Travel’ country of the US Travel Advisories webpage.

Risk indicators therein are: Unrest, crime, health, kidnapping or hostage taking and terrorism. According to the government website, the State Department’s Travel Advisories pertaining to countries in Levels 3 and 4 are reviewed at least every 6 months. On the other flip side, those on Levels 1 and 2 are reviewed every 12 months. However, these changes may also be updated any time conditions change “substantially.”

The ‘Level 4: Do Not Travel’ flag against a country is the highest advisory level due to “life-threatening risks.”