Trump Administration May Expand Travel Ban to 36 Additional Countries

The Trump administration is reportedly considering a significant expansion of its controversial travel ban, potentially extending it to include nationals from an additional 36 countries. The move would dramatically broaden the scope of the current ban, which already restricts entry from 12 countries primarily in the Middle East and Africa.

According to the Reuters report, the administration’s recent ban on 12 countries was touted as necessary to protect the US from “foreign terrorists and other national security threats”.

Among the key issues raised include- lack of co-operation in identifying verification or the issuance of forged or insecure passports and failure to facilitate deportation of nationals ordered to remove from the US.

Other issues include high overstay rates of US visa holders and historical ties to terrorism or antisemitic or anti-American activities.

-“We are constantly reevaluating policies to ensure the safety of Americans and that foreign nationals follow our laws,” a senior State Department official said in background, declining to elaborate on individual countries.

The countries that could face a full or a partial ban if they do not address these concerns within the next 60 days are: Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cote D’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Dominica, Ethiopia, Egypt, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Malawi, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, South Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Tonga, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.