The Trump administration is preparing to introduce one of the strictest travel controls in modern US history: Foreign tourists will have to hand over five years of their social media data before they are allowed to enter the country.
The proposal, quietly filed in the Federal Register by U.S. Customs and Border Protection this week, would apply to all foreign nationals, including travelers from visa-waived countries such as the United Kingdom and Germany. It represents the latest escalation in the administration’s efforts to tighten border controls, just days after a sweeping freeze on immigration applications from 19 countries and the cancellation of naturalization ceremonies across the United States.
Under the plan, visitors would be required to disclose half a decade of their social media accounts, along with associated email addresses, phone numbers and information about close family members. Officials say the U.S. public has 60 days to comment on the proposal before it goes through the formal approval process.
The move follows a State Department rule introduced in June that requires would-be immigrants and visa applicants to make their social media accounts publicly available to U.S. authorities. Monday’s proposed expansion goes further, covering short-term business travelers, tourists and travelers arriving through the world’s busiest airports ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
The White House and the Department of Homeland Security have not yet issued a public statement, although Traveling for Business has reached out to both for comment.
The government argues that increased scrutiny is needed to identify potential extremists and applicants who display what it calls “anti-Americanism.” In August, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said officials would begin reviewing the social media posts of visa and green card applicants to determine whether they had “advocated, promoted, supported, or otherwise represented” anti-American, terrorist or anti-Semitic views.
“America’s advantages should not go to those who despise the country,” USCIS spokesman Matthew Tragesser said at the time. “Immigration benefits remain a privilege, not a right.”
Critics warn that the latest measures open the door to wide interpretation and bias by forcing officials to make subjective decisions about what constitutes anti-American sentiment. Academics and immigration experts say the lack of a definition risks inconsistent decisions that could unlawfully target political speech.
Jane Lilly López, a sociology professor at Brigham Young University, said the proposals could “let stereotypes, prejudices and implicit bias take over,” with potentially life-changing consequences for applicants.
The expansion of social media screening comes with a series of new restrictions, including a temporary ban affecting more than 1.5 million people with pending asylum claims and tens of thousands of people previously approved under the Biden administration. Trump has also signaled that a broader travel ban on more than 30 countries could follow.
A DHS memo obtained by The Washington Post describes a comprehensive revet process in which all migrants off the restricted list would be subject to new interviews and new assessments of “threats to national and public security.”
President Trump has defended the measures, saying the Biden administration had allowed “unvetted migrants” to enter the country and pointing to the recent attack near the White House involving a suspect from Afghanistan. He has vowed to “permanently halt migration from all Third World countries” and pursue “reverse migration” as a remedy.
Secretary of State Kristi Noem endorsed the policy this week, pledging her support for a “total travel ban” on countries that she says send “murderers, leeches and entitlement junkies.”
If passed, the social media disclosure requirement would become one of the most intrusive travel control rules in the world and would likely complicate business travel, tourism and the planning of major events leading up to the World Cup in North America. Millions of international visitors are expected to pass through U.S. airports over the next three years, with airport authorities already having to prepare for longer processing times and higher documentation requirements.
