Travel isn’t just about ticking destinations off a bucket list—it’s about connection. It’s about stepping outside your comfort zone and realizing that people are not their governments. When you share a meal in a family-owned café in Brazzaville along the river or chat with a shopkeeper in Vang Vieng after floating the river, you see humanity, not headlines.
Unfortunately, recent political rhetoric calling for migration bans and painting entire regions with a broad brush shows just how damaging ignorance can be. These remarks aren’t just misguided, I honestly feel as they’re rooted in a lack of exposure to the world. When leaders speak as if entire nations are threats, it’s clear they’ve never truly experienced the warmth and resilience of the people they condemn. Some of my best experiences traveling where I have felt the most safe and welcoming are in these countries that the administration is damning.
I just met with the President.
I am recommending a full travel ban on every damn country that’s been flooding our nation with killers, leeches, and entitlement junkies.
Our forefathers built this nation on blood, sweat, and the unyielding love of freedom—not for foreign…
— Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) December 1, 2025
Current U.S. Travel Ban Countries
As of now, the Trump Administration has restrictions on several nations. Thus further hurting those looking to not only escape, but increasing division in our own communities across the United States, made up of not only 1st generation immigrants, but families who have been here for multiple generations.
Full Entry Ban:
Afghanistan, Myanmar (Burma), Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen.
Partial Restrictions:
Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, Venezuela.
That’s 19 countries facing full or partial restrictions. And proposals are on the table to expand this list to 30+ nations, primarily in Africa and parts of Asia. Mostly those which the administration calls “Third World”, a outdated term which should be put to rest. These lower and middle economy countries with lower GDP than the USA and much of Europe. More important, it’s vital to remember that immigrants are less likely to commit a crime than a US Born citizen. Proven time and time and time again.
Why This Matters
Blanket bans don’t just block movement, they block understanding. They reinforce stereotypes and create fear where there should be curiosity. It instill fear in people. It will not only keep those from traveling to the United States, but travelers from the US away from these countries and regions. Hurt investments, and further restrict opportunities for people. Creates an US vs THEM in our own neighborhoods.
Travel is the antidote to this mindset. People from Togo or any of these countries are not all terrible people as the administration would like us to believe. Most people are good, trying to survive day to day. Are there bad actors, yes, but we have plenty of them too. Just look at the Proud Boys if you need a domestic example, most school shooters, the Aurora Colorado night club shooter, Sandy Hook…should I go on?
I haven’t been to all the locations on the current travel ban list, but I have been to several, including both Togo and the Congo last year. Laos about ten years ago, and so on. Each time, I felt safe and welcomed. Every single person I met was warm. What I found throughout my travel is people are people. 99% of people are good, seeking the same things in life. Human connection/love, shelter, food, prosperity. People no mater their culture, race, skin color, language, religion are fighting to survive.
I have met people far and wide and everything I travel, I recognize how fortunate I am to travel. Those who are born in other parts of the world in situations where they have less, are often full of joy and happiness. They are human, seeking human connections. The more we travel, the more we recognize we are all the same at the end of the day.
Travel as an Antidote to Ignorance – Try it Kristi & Trump!
“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view—until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.” – Harper Lee
Travel brings us many things, but more important it brings us a new outlook on life.
- Human Connection: When you meet locals abroad, you realize kindness exists everywhere.
- Perspective: Seeing life through another lens changes everything.
- Empathy: Sharing stories and traditions fosters respect and dismantles prejudice.
Seeing the blatantly racist remarks from this administration saddens me. It seems like we cannot go a day without Trump, Kristi, or someone else in the administration blaming a problem on none white residence of the United States. It’s never “our”fault, it’s always “their” fault. “Their” being people from “shithole and garbage countries.” I have to wonder, have our leaders any empathy? Have they ever traveled or met someone from outside their own social economic class? Racism should have no place in this world, and sadly this administration has normalized it, as if it was 1920 all over again.
If only these leaders who travel and meet the people they condemn. I could only wish…
Final Thoughts
The United States prosperity has been built by immigrants. Black Slaves who were forced to farm and build the wealth of White owners, Indentured servants from Europe, and by immigrants who enter the country by all means and help add to the economy. From picking fruit to building homes to keeping Americans healthy, as nearly 20% of healthcare workers are immigrations; immigration help. Nearly every single one of us immigrated to the United States from somewhere else. Few of us are Native. Yet more importantly, there are great people from everywhere.
Travel isn’t just about exotic destinations, it’s about being an antidote to fear and ignorance. Where others see borders, a traveler sees fellow humans; where they see strangers, we see neighbors. In times when rhetoric amplifies walls and bans, the best response is to pack a bag and build a bridge. Go out into the world and meet some people. Change your perspective. Be a better person through travel.
