The Trump administration is reportedly considering a dramatic expansion of the list of countries included in the recently enacted travel ban.
An internal State Department memo obtained by Reuters suggests that citizens from 36 more countries could soon face restrictions on entering the United States.
This potential development will be based on the immigration policies that President Donald Trump already implemented earlier this month, when his administration issued a proclamation banning travelers from 12 countries from entering the United States. The stated rationale was to protect the US from threats posed by “foreign terrorists” and vulnerabilities in national security.
The order is part of a broader campaign to combat immigration that Trump launched at the beginning of his second term, which included deporting hundreds of people from Venezuela to El Salvador for suspected gang ties, along with efforts to block some foreign students from enrolling in American universities and deport others already studying in the country.
According to the report, an internal diplomatic cable, sent over the weekend and signed by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, details a series of concerns related to the countries in question and calls for corrective measures to address these issues.
“The Ministry has identified 36 countries for which a full or partial suspension of entry may be proposed if they do not meet the established criteria and requirements within 60 days,” the cable reads.
Some of the problems mentioned in the document include what the agencies consider to be the inability of foreign governments and uncooperative attitudes when it comes to deporting their own citizens who are ordered to leave the United States. Other concerns include inadequate passport security, failure to provide reliable identification documents, citizens overstaying their visas, and, in some cases, the alleged involvement of foreign nationals in terrorist, anti-Semitic, or anti-American activities. The memorandum clarifies that not all issues apply to every country on the list.
The following countries may face new restrictions: Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Cambodia, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, Egypt, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Malawi, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, South Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Tonga, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Although details have not been confirmed, a senior State Department official told Reuters, “We are constantly reassessing policies to ensure the safety of Americans and that foreign nationals are following our laws,” adding, “FCDO is committed to protecting our nation and its citizens by maintaining the highest standards of national security and public safety through the visa issuance process.”
The move reportedly under discussion would significantly expand the scope of the current travel ban, which took effect earlier this month and already applies to travelers from Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. Separate entry restrictions were imposed on seven additional nations, including Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.
