The Trump administration is reportedly weighing a significant expansion of its travel ban, potentially adding up to 36 more nations to the existing list of 19 already facing full or partial restrictions. This move, detailed in a State Department memo obtained by NPR, could nearly triple the number of countries whose citizens face limitations on entering the United States.
The memo, signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and initially reported by The Washington Post, was dispatched to diplomats in approximately two dozen African nations, alongside others in Central Asia, the Caribbean, and several Pacific Island countries. It sets a deadline of this Wednesday for these nations to outline how they plan to address U.S. concerns and comply with new State Department requirements.
According to the memo, the 36 identified countries have “vetting and screening information [that] is so deficient as to warrant a partial or full suspension” of entry for their citizens to the U.S. This initiative is presented as the latest step in President Donald Trump‘s ongoing immigration crackdown, which has previously included extensive deportations of immigrants, both those accused or convicted of criminal activity and others.
The concerns outlined in the memo vary. Some nations are labelled as state sponsors of terror, or their citizens have been “involved with acts of terrorism in the United States.” Others are cited for lacking a credible “government authority to produce reliable identity documents,” maintaining unreliable criminal records, or being plagued by “widespread government fraud.” Additional worries include countries with high rates of citizens overstaying their visas, or citizens who have been “involved in antisemitic or Anti-American activity in the United States.” The memo indicates that countries failing to address these concerns could face a recommended travel ban as early as August.
Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin, in a statement to NPR, asserted that limiting entry from these countries “will help secure the American homeland and make our communities safer.”
The memo also emphasises the expectation that foreign governments be “fully cooperative” in repatriating their own citizens when it is deemed “vital to U.S. national security.” Furthermore, it suggests that any specific U.S. concerns with a particular country could be “mitigated” if that country demonstrates a willingness to accept deportees from the U.S. who cannot be sent back to their country of origin.
McLaughlin reiterated, “This is a necessary step to garner cooperation from foreign governments to accept deportation flights of their own citizens, strengthen national security, and help restore integrity to the immigration system.”
However, critics of the travel bans have consistently denounced President Trump’s previous restrictions as racially and religiously discriminatory, particularly for their perceived targeting of many African and Muslim-majority nations.
The countries listed in the memo as potentially facing new bans include: Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Cameroon, Côte D’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Dominica, Ethiopia, Egypt, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Malawi, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, South Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Tonga, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Currently, nations already under full travel bans, implemented on June 4, are: Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. Those facing partial bans include Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela. It’s worth noting that in his first term, Trump had initially banned travellers from seven Muslim-majority countries, an order that was later rescinded under the Biden administration.
