The Trump Administration seeks tougher oversight of all foreign travelers to the U.S.

The Trump administration is moving to dramatically expand digital screening for foreign visitors. The current US administration is proposing a new rule that would require virtually all tourists entering the United States to disclose five years of social media activity, along with extensive personal and family information.

The plan, published Tuesday in a Federal Register notice by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), would apply to travelers from every country. This would then include those currently eligible to enter without a visa through the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA). Among nations benefiting of the ESTA are Australia, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, most European Union countries or the UK.

Under the proposal, applicants would be required to submit usernames associated with all social media platforms used in the past five years, as well as all phone numbers and email addresses from the same period. CBP also seeks to collect detailed information about close family members, including names, birth dates, birthplaces, addresses, and phone numbers.

The disclosures, described in the notice as “mandatory,” would mark a major expansion of digital vetting for tens of millions of travelers from countries. A similar question about social media accounts was already introduced back to 2016. But so far it is marked as optional until now. The new rule would then eliminate that flexibility. The public has until February 9 to submit comments.

The Department of Homeland Security declined to comment on the proposal with various media outlets. But the move comes amid a sweeping hardline turn on immigration and border controls since Donald Trump took over the U.S. presidency last January. The U.S. administration has tightened nearly every pathway into the country—legal and undocumented—while accelerating mass deportation operations and expanding ideological screening for visa applicants.

Last week, the administration already instructed consular officials to deny visas to anyone who has worked in fact-checking or content moderation, broadly accusing such applicants of attempting to “censor protected expression.” It has also proposed reducing visa validity for foreign journalists from five years to eight months, prompting objections from international press-freedom groups.

A new nail in the coffin of American tourism?

Tourism industry officials warn the latest measures could deliver another blow to an already weakened sector. International travel to the US has fallen sharply since early 2025, a trend amplified by diplomatic tensions, rising fees, and widespread uncertainty among foreign visitors. Fear is spreading among professionals that the new rules -if finally approved-would impact negatively the 2026 World Cup, which the US will co-host with Canada and Mexico. The event should normally generate unprecedented cross-border travel. Tourism experts say now that new digital disclosure rules could deter fans or slow entry processing.

The administration has already angered the travel industry with new surcharges, including an additional $100-per-person, per-day fee to visit national parks such as Yosemite and the Grand Canyon. Free admission days tied to federal holidays have been eliminated; parks will now be free only on Donald Trump’s birthday.

CBP maintains the authority to search electronic devices of any traveler seeking entry. While refusal is allowed, it may result in denial of entry. The agency reported searching 47,000 devices out of 420 million border crossings in 2024. Experts expect that number to surge if the new policies are enacted.

If approved, the new disclosure requirement would represent one of the most sweeping expansions of data collection for international travelers in US history. And it will certainly unsettle new groups of visitors who were planing to come to the USA in 2026.