U.S. Government Considers Travel Ban on 43 Countries

The Trump administration is thinking about banning people from up to 43 countries from travelling to the U.S.

This new ban would be even bigger than the one put in place during Trump’s first term, according to officials.

Officials, speaking anonymously, said the State Department drafted the list of countries for the travel ban weeks ago.

They added that it may change before reaching the White House.

Experts from embassies, regional bureaus, and intelligence agencies are reviewing the draft list.

They are assessing the accuracy of country assessments and considering policy impacts, such as maintaining cooperation on other priorities.

The new travel ban affects 22 African countries and 21 others, but Nigeria is not included.

Some of these countries were also included in Trump’s first-term restrictions.

The list is divided into three categories: “red” (11 countries), “orange” (10 countries), and “yellow” (22 countries).

People from red-listed countries would face a full ban.

These countries include Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Afghanistan, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, Venezuela, and Yemen.

People from orange-listed countries will face travel restrictions.

Wealthy business travellers may be allowed, but immigrant and tourist visas will be denied.

They must also attend in-person visa interviews.

The list includes Eritrea, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Belarus, Haiti, Laos, Myanmar, Pakistan, Russia, and Turkmenistan.

The yellow list includes 22 countries given 60 days to fix security issues or face stricter restrictions.

Concerns include weak passport security, not sharing traveller info, or selling citizenship.

The countries include Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Chad, the Republic of Congo, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Others are Dominica, Equatorial Guinea, Gambia, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, São Tomé and Príncipe, Vanuatu, and Zimbabwe.

Trump’s Previous Travel Ban

The Trump travel ban, often called the “Muslim Ban,” restricted people from certain countries from entering the U.S. It mostly affected Muslim-majority nations.

The first version was signed on January 27, 2017.

It banned travellers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen for 90 days.

It also paused refugee admissions for 120 days and blocked Syrian refugees indefinitely.

This led to protests and legal battles, forcing the government to revise it.

A second version, issued on March 6, 2017, removed Iraq but still faced legal challenges.

On September 24, 2017, the ban was updated to add Chad, North Korea, and some Venezuelan officials. At the same time, Sudan was removed from the list.

That same year, American student Otto Warmbier died after being imprisoned in North Korea.

In response, the U.S. banned Americans from traveling there.

The ban mainly restricted visa approvals. It was heavily challenged in court, but the Supreme Court upheld it in 2018.

On February 21, 2020, the ban was expanded again to include Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Nigeria, Sudan, and Tanzania.

The ban stayed controversial until President Joe Biden revoked it on January 20, 2021, calling it unfair and unnecessary.

However, the North Korea travel ban stayed in place.