By Barth Ikiebe.
The Trump administration is considering implementing travel restrictions to 36 more countries, including some major U.S. partners such as Egypt and Djibouti, according to an internal memo seen by The Washington Post.
The memo, signed by Secretary of State, Marco Rubio and sent to U.S. diplomats on Saturday, says the governments of the listed nations have 60 days to meet new requirements established by the State Department.
The State Department alleged that some of the countries mentioned have not met various benchmarks, such as “no competent or cooperative central government authority” to provide reliable identity documents or a large number of citizens who have violated the terms of their visas.
However, the memo included a caveat: if a country is willing to accept third-country nationals who are being removed from the United States, it would ease other concerns.
The list of countries which could face visa restrictions, travel bans,or other restrictions includes 25 countries in Africa: Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Egypt, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Malawi, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Several Caribbean nations are on the list as well: Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Saint Lucia.
There are also four countries in Asia listed: Bhutan, Cambodia, Kyrgyzstan, and Syria; and three countries in Oceania: Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.
Those countries have until 8 a.m. Wednesday to provide the State Department with an initial plan of action to meet the new requirements.
A spokesperson for the Department of State did not comment on ongoing internal deliberations but said the department is always reevaluating policies to ensure Americans are safe and foreign nationals abide by the law.
The Independent has asked the White House for comment.
It’s unclear if the travel restrictions will take effect after that deadline.
Reports about the new internal memo arrive just one week after Trump revived his first-term travel ban and announced a full ban on entry into the United States from 12 countries and travel restrictions on seven others.
In January, Trump signed an executive order asking the State Department to identify countries “for which vetting and screening information is so deficient as to warrant a partial or full suspension” on nationals from those countries.
Those actions are part of agenda, including what he has called the “largest mass deportation operation” in American history targeting undocumented immigrants and revoking visas and humanitarian protections for tens of thousands of immigrants.
