The Trump administration has imposed a complete travel ban on anybody using Palestinian Authority-issued documents as well as five other nations. Fifteen additional nations were also subject to new restrictions. The number of countries impacted by sweeping travel restrictions has doubled to 39 as the Trump administration announced the addition of 20 more countries and the Palestinian Authority.
The Trump administration slapped new restrictions on 15 other countries and added five more to the list of nations that face a complete ban, along with anybody traveling on Palestinian Authority-issued documents.
President Donald Trump declared in June that people from 12 nations would not be allowed to enter the country, while those from seven other nations would be subject to restrictions.
Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen were all prohibited at the time, and travel from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela was subject to stricter regulations.
The Republican administration declared on Tuesday that Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan, and Syria would be added to the list of nations whose residents are prohibited from entering the United States.
Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Ivory Coast, Dominica, Gabon, Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Zambia, and Zimbabwe are the other fifteen nations that are subject to partial restrictions.
Both visitors and prospective immigrants to the US are subject to restrictions.
The restrictions do not apply to those who are currently in the nation with a visa, are lawful permanent residents of the United States, belong to specific visa categories like diplomats or athletes, or whose entry into the country is thought to be in the best interests of the United States. According to the declaration, the modifications will take effect on January 1st.
The administration’s previous restrictions, which made it practically impossible for anybody with a Palestinian Authority passport to obtain travel permits to enter the United States for work, pleasure, school, or commerce, were followed months later by the additional restrictions on Palestinians. The announcement on Tuesday goes one step further and prohibits emigration to the United States for anyone who hold passports issued by the Palestinian Authority.
Countries are assessing restrictions.
In its announcement, the Trump administration announced that it was challenging to screen its nationals for travel to the US because of “widespread corruption, fraudulent or unreliable civil documents, and criminal records” in several of the nations from which it was limiting immigration.
Additionally, it stated that certain nations had “general lack of stability and government control,” refused to repatriate their residents that the US wanted to deport, or had high rates of visa overstays, all of which made vetting challenging. Concerns about national security, foreign policy, and immigration enforcement were also mentioned as reasons for the action.
Critics who have said that the administration is using national security concerns to collectively bar individuals from a wide range of nations are sure to fiercely oppose the news of the expanded travel ban.
Laurie Ball Cooper, deputy president of US Legal Programs at the International Refugee Assistance Project, stated, “This expanded ban is not about national security but rather is another shameful attempt to demonize people simply for where they are from.”
The revised travel ban no longer includes an exemption for Afghans who are eligible for the Special Immigrant Visa, which alarmed advocates for Afghans who backed the United States’ two-decade war in Afghanistan on Tuesday. Afghans who directly supported the US war effort at considerable personal danger are eligible for that particular visa type.
Late Tuesday, nations that had recently been added to the list of prohibited or restricted nations stated that they were reviewing the information. Dominica, an island nation in the Caribbean Sea, said its government was handling the matter with the “utmost seriousness and urgency” and was contacting US officials to explain the limits and resolve any issues.
Ronald Saunders, the ambassador of Antigua and Barbuda to the US, stated that the “matter is quite serious” and that he will be asking US officials for further details about the new limitations.
Along with upgrading restrictions on certain nations that were previously on the partially restricted list, such as Laos and Sierra Leone, the Trump administration also claimed that Turkmenistan had improved sufficiently that some limits on travel from that country should be loosened. According to the administration, all other travel restrictions that were previously issued in June are still in effect.
