United States President Donald Trump’s administration is considering a travel ban on people from different countries, an internal memo has revealed. A US official said that the extensive list is yet to be approved by the administration, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and that there could be changes to the list.
According to Reuters, the list of 41 countries has been divided into three categories: full visa suspension, partial visa suspension, and those recommended for a partial suspension if they do not address deficiencies.
The list echoes Trump’s list from the first term, which banned citizens from seven majority-Muslim nations, a policy that faced multiple legal challenges before being upheld by the Supreme Court in 2018.
On January 20, Trump issued an executive order requiring intensified security vetting of any foreigners who sought admission to the US to detect national security threats. The order directed several cabinet members to submit a list of countries by March 21, 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, as reported by Reuters.
Here is the category-wise list
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
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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