Trump expands his travel ban to 6 more countries, mostly in Africa
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump marked the roughly third-year anniversary of his controversial “travel ban” on Friday by adding six African, Central and East Asian countries to the list of those whose nationals face restrictions on travel to the United States.
The Homeland Security and State departments announced the administration is now including Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Eritrea, Nigeria, Sudan and Tanzania. More than 80% of those potentially impacted by the new ban are from the latter four African countries, according to America’s Voice, an organization advocating for immigration reform.
Administration officials said Friday that the measure would not necessarily block all citizens of those nations from entering the U.S., impacting only “limited categories” of travelers with a range of restrictions. The State Department has put pressure on countries it deems “recalcitrant” for not adopting electronic passports with biometric data and agreeing to certain information-sharing with the U.S.
The restrictions will take effect Feb. 22, officials said.
Rep. Joe Neguse, D-Colo., the son of Eritrean refugees who came to the U.S. nearly 40 years ago, criticized the decision.
Mr. Trump confirmed plans to broaden the ban last week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, saying, “We’re adding a couple of countries to it. We have to be safe.”
Neither the president nor
Homeland Security and State Department officials have detailed any specific threats to U.S. security posed by travelers from these nations.
The White House had intended to expand the ban Monday to coincide with the anniversary of the original ban, enacted a week after Mr. Trump took office. The initial order targeted seven Muslim-majority countries and was met by nationwide protests, chaos at the Homeland Security department, and lawsuits that forced the administration to modify the measure.
In June 2018, the Supreme Court allowed a third version of the order to take effect, restricting entry from many citizens of Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Yemen, Venezuela and North Korea, while removing Chad from the list.