Trump administration weighs travel ban on dozens of countries, memo says
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WASHINGTON: The Trump administration is considering issuing sweeping travel restrictions for the citizens of dozens of countries as part of a new ban, according to sources familiar with the matter and an internal memo seen by Reuters.
The memo lists a total of 41 countries divided into three separate groups. The first group of 10 countries, including Afghanistan, Iran, Syria, Cuba and North Korea, among others, would be set for a full visa suspension.
In the second group, five countries – Eritrea, Haiti, Laos, Myanmar and South Sudan – would face partial suspensions that would impact tourist and student visas as well as other immigrant visas, with some exceptions.
In the third group, a total of 26 countries that include Belarus, Pakistan and Turkmenistan, among others, would be considered for a partial suspension of US visa issuance if their governments "do not make efforts to address deficiencies within 60 days", the memo said.
A US official speaking on the condition of anonymity cautioned there could be changes on the list and that it was yet to be approved by the administration, including US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The New York Times first reported on the list of countries.
Countries in the memo
The memo lists a total of 41 countries divided into three separate groups.
Full visa suspension:
- Afghanistan
- Cuba
- Iran
- Libya
- North Korea
- Somalia
- Sudan
- Syria
- Venezuela
- Yemen
Partial visa suspension (tourist, student and some other visas affected):
- Eritrea
- Haiti
- Laos
- Myanmar
- South Sudan
Countries recommended for a partial suspension if they do not address deficiencies:
- Angola
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Belarus
- Benin
- Bhutan
- Burkina Faso
- Cabo Verde
- Cambodia
- Cameroon
- Chad
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Dominica
- Equatorial Guinea
- Gambia
- Liberia
- Malawi
- Mauritania
- Pakistan
- Republic of the Congo
- Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Saint Lucia
- Sao Tome and Principe
- Sierra Leone
- East Timor
- Turkmenistan
- Vanuatu
The move harkens back to President Donald Trump's first-term ban on travellers from seven majority-Muslim nations, a policy that went through several iterations before it was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2018.
Trump issued an executive order on Jan 20 requiring intensified security vetting of foreigners seeking admission to the US to detect national security threats.
That order directed several cabinet members to submit by Mar 21 a list of countries from which travel should be partly or fully suspended because their "vetting and screening information is so deficient".
Trump's directive is part of an immigration crackdown that he launched at the start of his second term.
He previewed his plan in an October 2023 speech, pledging to restrict people from the Gaza Strip, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Yemen and "anywhere else that threatens our security".
The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.
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