TThe Trump administration would consider a new ban on traveling for citizens of up to 43 countries – a potential escalation of the travel ban on Trump’s first mandate which mainly targeted Muslim majority countries.
An internal memo, obtained and examined first by the New York Times And then by Reuters, suggests that the Trump administration included new countries in the plan to travel. According to the memo, the countries on the list are sorted in three different levels: red, orange and yellow.
Citizens of the 11 countries in the “red” category are categorically prevented from entering the United States. The 11 countries listed include Afghanistan, Bhutan, Cuba, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Venezuela and Yemen. THE Times However, that this list was formed by the State Department a few weeks ago and that changes may well be made.
Citizens of countries in the “orange” category – which includes Haiti, Russia and Pakistan, would have their highly limited visas. Speak Times“Reporting, citizens traveling to the United States from these countries would be subject to” compulsory interviews in person “in order to receive a visa. The third category includes countries of the “yellow” group – which means that they have 60 days to respond to the concerns of the administration, otherwise each country risks being transferred to other categories. The countries that have been listed in this category include Cambodia, Zimbabwe and the Republic of Congo.
The White House has not yet publicly commented on the reported memo. Time contacted the White House to comment.
The mention of a new prohibition of potential travel by the Trump administration comes shortly after the president was questioned during a press briefing on Wednesday March 12 on which countries could be targeted on his list 2.0. He closed the journalist’s question by saying: “It wouldn’t be a stupid thing for me to say?”
Trump made promises on his campaign track, declaring his intention to restore a travel ban which attracted a lot of attention during his initial introduction during his first mandate. His signing of a decree entitled “Protection of the United States against foreign terrorists and other threats of national security and public security”, on January 20, only served to reaffirm his intentions.
Here is an overview of the story of Trump’s travel ban and what he shared on his plans to move forward.
Trump’s first -term travel ban
In January 2017, a week after his entry into office of Trump, Trump signed the executive decree 13769, entitled “Protection of the nation against the entry of foreign terrorists in the United States” – date called “ban on a Muslim travel”, due to the fact that it was largely targeted the Muslim nations. The ban has prohibited the entry of Syrian refugees and temporarily suspended the entry of individuals from Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
The action triggered chaos in airports and triggered demonstrations across the country. The judges of several states blocked the initial prohibition shortly after its implementation in 2017, claiming that it was aiming for Muslim countries and discriminated against people for their nationality without justification, violating the US immigration law.
Finally, the Supreme Court authorized a rewritten notion in which citizens of Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela and Yemen continued to be subjected to the ban. They then confirmed the ban in 2018. These countries could potentially be in danger, if a 2.0 list was finalized.
When former President Joe Biden came into office in 2021, he repealed the ban, calling him “a task on our national conscience” and “incompatible with our long history of welcoming people of all confessions and no faith at all”.
“”[T]Hey, separated relatives, inflicting pain that will wave for the years to come. They are simply wrong, “said Biden in the executive decree announcing the end of the ban.
Trump promised to restore a travel ban during his campaign
During the campaign campaign in 2024, Trump promised to restore his ban on travel in 2017 several times.
In July, during a campaign rally in St. Cloud, Minnesota, Trump told the crowd that he “would restore the ban on travel, suspended admissions to refugees, would stop the resettlement and keep the terrorists of hell out of our country” and that he would do it the “first day” of his presidency.
In a subsequent campaign event in Washington, Trump said that he would prohibit people from the areas “infested by the terrorist” and “seal our borders”.
“Do you remember the famous travel ban?” We did not take people from certain regions of the world, “said Trump at the event in September 2024.” We do not take them from infested countries. “”
Trump’s executive order on “verification” countries
Trump did not reintroduce his travel ban on the “first day” as promised, but on the first day of his second term, he signed the decree entitled “Protection of the United States against foreign terrorists and other national security and public security threats”.
In the decree, Trump called to the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, the Secretary of Internal Security, and the Director of National Intelligence to subject a report “Identifying the countries of the world for which the verification and screening information are so deficient as to justify a partial or complete suspension on the admission of nationals of these countries.” A deadline of 60 days has been given.
If the calendar remains the same, this report is due to the president next week. Although he may have already received.
The executive decree also called the report to be identified the number of people in these countries who have entered the United States since Biden was inaugurated as president.
It was just an executive decree in a series of recent requests signed by Trump who seek to radically change and tie the United States immigration and visit policy.
