Trump considers travel ban on another 36 countries after restricting people from 19 nations from entering the US
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President Donald Trump is considering extending his extraordinary travel bans to encompass a further 36 countries.
Trump imposed a full ban on nationals from 12 countries, and partial restrictions for visitors from another seven countries earlier this month as part of an ongoing effort to rid the United States of foreign threats and secure the borders.
Now it can be revealed the State Department also identified another 36 nations in an internal memo which are on the cusp of being added to the no-fly list.
These nations included Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Dominica, Ethiopia, Egypt, Gambia, Ghana, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Malawi, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, Senegal, South Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Tonga, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
They were given 60 days to improve on a series of benchmarks to be considered safe under the Trump administration.
Each of the affected nations has been ordered to provide remediation plans by Wednesday 8pm or risk being added to the dreaded no-fly list.
According to documents viewed by The New York Times, they must each ‘take immediate action to mitigate ongoing vetting and screening concerns, develop corrective action plans to remediate deficiencies and evaluate progress.’
The countries have been added to the list for any number of reasons, including but not limited to previously having high rates of visa overstays, or failing to cooperate in taking back citizens who have been deported.
President Donald Trump is weighing whether to extend his expansive travel ban to encompass another 36 countries
Trump imposed a full ban on nationals from 12 countries, and partial restrictions for visitors from another seven countries earlier this month as part of an ongoing effort to rid the United States of foreign threats and secure the border
Trump also flagged countries which don’t have a central government which produces reliable identity documents, or the ability to adequately inform the US government of criminal records.
Nations where citizens have been involved in terrorism, or ‘antisemitic and anti-American activity in the United States’ have also been flagged.
This was particularly apparent with the inclusion of Egypt days after an Egyptian citizen who overstayed his visa in the United States set fire to a group of pro-Israel demonstrators in Boulder, California.
Trump said the tragedy in Boulder ‘underscored the extreme dangers posed to our country by the entry of foreign nationals who are not properly vetted.
‘We’ve seen one terror attack after another from foreign visa overstayers… thanks to Biden’s open door policies today there are millions and millions of these illegals who should not be in our country.’
The president then directed several of his top national security chiefs to investigate whether Egypt should also be added to the list of restricted nations.
‘In light of recent events, the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Attorney General, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the Director of National Intelligence, shall provide me an update to the review of the practices and procedures of Egypt,’ he wrote in his initial proclamation.
Countries could also earn their way off the list or help to mitigate the government’s concerns if it agreed to accept third-country nationals from the United States whom they had tried to deport but could not return to their country of origin.
Similarly, if nations agree to act as a ‘safe third country’ which accepted migrants who had applied for asylum in the US, they would be looked upon favorably, the publication stated.
El Salvador, Panama and Costa Rica have accepted third-country deportees, while Kosovo recently agreed to temporarily accept up to 50 deportees annually in a new deal with Trump.
Nationals of Afghanistan, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Myanmar, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen were barred from entering the United States from June 9.
Citizens of Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela are partially restricted from traveling under the order, removing access to all immigrant visas and several non-immigrant travel options.
‘We don’t want ’em,’ Trump said bluntly in a video released shortly after the ban was announced.
‘Very simply, we cannot have open migration from any country where we cannot safely and reliably vet and screen.’
White House Deputy Press Secretary Abigail Jackson wrote on X: ‘President Trump is fulfilling his promise to protect Americans from dangerous foreign actors that want to come to our country and cause us harm.
‘These commonsense restrictions are country-specific and include places that lack proper vetting, exhibit high visa overstay rates, or fail to share identity and threat information.
‘President Trump will ALWAYS act in the best of interest of the American people and their safety.’
President Donald Trump is banning visitors from 12 countries from entering the United States and partially restricted access to travelers from seven other nations
During his first term in office, Trump announced a ban on travelers from seven majority-Muslim nations
Several of the nations facing bans have been targeted because their screening and vetting capabilities are not up to the president’s standards.
Afghanistan, Eritrea, Libya, Sudan and Yemen were all placed on the banned list in part due to limited screening and vetting measures, Trump noted.
Trump said the list is ‘subject to revision’ if nations work toward improving the vetting system of their nationals.
Similarly, other nations can be added to the list if Trump later believes they pose a risk to national security.
For the seven nations who have had their access to the United States severely restricted, Trump has clarified that authorities will no longer accept any immigrant visa applications.
Additionally, a host of nonimmigrant visa options will be revoked, and those that remain will have ‘reduced validity… to the extent permitted by law.’
This directive is part of an immigration crackdown Trump launched at the start of his second term, which has included deporting hundreds of Venezuelans suspected of being gang members.
He has also set about barring Harvard from admitting foreign students and cracked down on antisemitism on campus, seeking to deport students who have been active participants in on campus protests.
The revelation comes after Trump announced he would leave the G7 Meeting early. Members of the G7 pose for a ‘family photo.’ From left: European Council President Antonio Costa, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, French President Emmanuel Macron, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, U.S. President Donald Trump, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and European Union President Ursula von der Leyen
‘We are constantly reevaluating policies to ensure the safety of Americans and that foreign nationals follow our laws,’ a senior State Department official said, declining to comment on specific internal deliberations and communications.
‘The Department of State is committed to protecting our nation and its citizens by upholding the highest standards of national security and public safety through our visa process,’ the official said.
During his first term in office, Trump announced a ban on travelers from seven majority-Muslim nations, a policy that went through several iterations before it was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2018.
Former President Joe Biden, a Democrat who succeeded Trump, repealed the ban in 2021, calling it ‘a stain on our national conscience.’
But Trump touted the successes of his initial 2017 travel bans in his proclamation earlier this month.
‘During my first Administration, I restricted the entry of foreign nationals into the United States, which successfully prevented national security threats from reaching our borders and which the Supreme Court upheld,’ the president wrote.
‘It is the policy of the United States to protect its citizens from aliens who intend to commit terrorist attacks, threaten our national security, espouse hateful ideology, or otherwise exploit the immigration laws for malevolent purposes.
‘The United States must be vigilant during the visa-issuance process to ensure that those aliens approved for admission into the United States do not intend to harm Americans or our national interests.
‘More importantly, the United States must identify such aliens before their admission or entry into the United States.
‘The United States must ensure that admitted aliens and aliens otherwise already present in the United States do not bear hostile attitudes toward its citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles, and do not advocate for, aid, or support designated foreign terrorists or other threats to our national security.’
