SOURCE- THE NEW YORK TIMES: The Trump administration is considering targeting the citizens of as many as 43 countries as part of a new ban on travel to the United States that would be broader than the restrictions imposed during President Trump’s first term, according to officials familiar with the matter.
A draft list of recommendations developed by diplomatic and security officials suggests a “red” list of 11 countries whose citizens would be flatly barred from entering the United States. They are Afghanistan, Bhutan, Cuba, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Venezuela and Yemen, the officials said.
The officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive internal deliberations, cautioned that the list had been developed by the State Department several weeks ago, and that changes were likely by the time it reached the White House.
Officials at embassies and in regional bureaus at the State Department, and security specialists at other departments and intelligence agencies, have been reviewing the draft. They are providing comment about whether descriptions of deficiencies in particular countries are accurate or whether there are policy reasons — like not risking disruption to cooperation on some other priority — to reconsider including some.
The draft proposal also included an “orange” list of 10 countries for which travel would be restricted but not cut off. In those cases, affluent business travelers might be allowed to enter, but not people traveling on immigrant or tourist visas.
What you should know. The Times makes a careful decision any time it uses an anonymous source. The information the source supplies must be newsworthy and give readers genuine insight.
Citizens on that list would also be subjected to mandatory in-person interviews in order to receive a visa. It included Belarus, Eritrea, Haiti, Laos, Myanmar, Pakistan, Russia, Sierra Leone, South Sudan and Turkmenistan.
When he took office on Jan. 20, Mr. Trump issued an executive order requiring the State Department to identify countries “for which vetting and screening information is so deficient as to warrant a partial or full suspension on the admission of nationals from those countries.”
He gave the department 60 days to finish a report for the White House with that list, meaning it is due next week. The State Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs has taken the lead, and the order said the Justice and Homeland Security Departments and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence were to assist with the effort.
Spokespeople at several agencies declined to comment or did not respond to a request for comment. But the State Department previously said it was following Mr. Trump’s order and was “committed to protecting our nation and its citizens by upholding the highest standards of national security and public safety through our visa process,” while declining to specifically discuss internal deliberations.
The Times and other news outlets reported this month that Afghanistan, which was not part of Mr. Trump’s first-term travel bans but fell to the Taliban when the U.S. withdrew its forces in 2021, was likely to be part of the second-term ban. But the other countries under consideration had been unclear.
It is also not clear whether people with existing visas would be exempted from the ban, or if their visas would be canceled. Nor is it clear whether the administration intends to exempt existing green card holders, who are already approved for lawful permanent residency.
The Trump administration this past week said it had canceled the green card of a Syrian-born former Columbia University graduate student of Palestinian descent, Mahmoud Khalil, because he had led high-profile campus protests against Israel’s war in Gaza that the government says were antisemitic, setting off a court fight over the legality of that move.
Some of the countries on the draft red and orange lists were sanctioned by Mr. Trump in his first-term travel bans, but many are new. Some share characteristics with the earlier lists — they are generally Muslim-majority or otherwise nonwhite, poor and have governments that are considered weak or corrupt.
But the reason several others were included was not immediately clear. Bhutan, for example, was proposed for an absolute ban on entry. The small Buddhist and Hindu country is sandwiched between China and India, neither of which were on any of the draft lists.
The proposal to sharply restrict, if not outright ban, visitors from Russia raises a different issue. While the Russian government has a reputation for corruption, Mr. Trump has been trying to reorient U.S. foreign policy in a more Russia-friendly direction.
A decision to include Venezuela could also disrupt a nascent thaw in relations that has been useful to Mr. Trump’s separate efforts to deport undocumented migrants.
The proposal also includes a draft “yellow” list of 22 countries that would be given 60 days to clear up perceived deficiencies, with the threat of being moved onto one of the other lists if they did not comply.
Such issues could include failing to share with the United States information about incoming travelers, purportedly inadequate security practices for issuing passports, or the selling of citizenship to people from banned countries, which could serve as a loophole around the restrictions.
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That list, the officials said, included Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Chad, the Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Dominica, Equatorial Guinea, Gambia, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, São Tomé and Príncipe, Vanuatu and Zimbabwe.
During Mr. Trump’s first term, courts blocked the government from enforcing the first two versions of his travel ban, but the Supreme Court eventually permitted a rewritten ban — one that banned citizens from eight nations, six of them predominantly Muslim — to take effect. The list later evolved.
Soon after he became president in January 2021, Joseph R. Biden Jr. issued a proclamation revoking Mr. Trump’s travel bans, calling them “a stain on our national conscience” and “inconsistent with our long history of welcoming people of all faiths and no faith at all.”
Mr. Trump’s executive order in January said he would revive the bans in order to protect American 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.”
Zolan Kanno-Youngs and Ed Wong contributed reporting from Washington.
Charlie Savage writes about national security and legal policy. More about Charlie Savage
Ken Bensinger covers media and politics for The Times. More about Ken Bensinger
Allison McCann is a reporter and graphics editor at The Times who covers immigration. More about Allison McCann
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CIP again. Whatever issue the US has with CIP, if we don’t fix it then we will be moved onto the orange list where USA student visas, visitor visas and a few other types of US visas are restricted to Antiguans. Not at all good.
Interesting to say the least. WADADLI we have a problem!
Well, several as a matter of fact, when it comes to dealing with this Trump administration.
The New York Times is considered a good news reporting agency, with credible sources so, yes Antiguans & Barbudans please pay keen attention to what is coming out of the Trump Administration…
A…the issue of what America has determined, to be #human_trafficing regarding the Cuban International healthcare workers, and the revoking of diplomatic visas. Does this mean, that Embassies and Missions in the US for those Countries not complying with Rubio’s edict will have to be closed?
B…now, this alleged or put it this way, the proposed Visa ban and restrictions on the average citizen from the Nation will spell huge trouble for businesses locally.
What if, the State Department decides to issue a WARNING to US Citizens about traveling to Antigua & Barbuda? Tourism will definitely feel the pinch. Those bed n breakfast establishments being pushed by the Government will definitely be in trouble.
C…well, if this is any indication, as to how the State Department will be dealing with Antigua & Barbuda, they can just about kiss a new US Embassy goodbye.
Interesting times, no doubt! Mos def, #no_doubt!
🦶🏾
Jumbee_Picknee aka Ras Smood
De’ole Dutty Peg🦶🏾Garrat_Bastard
Vere C. Edwards
@Not So Common
I thought CIP but no mention of Belize, Grenada, Panama etc. not all CIP countries are on the potential yellow list.
It may be sumting beyond CIP.
or
It could just be the day of the week and what other decisions with negative fallout the overseas leader is trying to deflect from!
Haiti yet again demonized; wealthy Haitians might be approved (!) leaving regular Haitians currently being terrorized daily with lives in danger with very very few places to go … Caricom countries are also not welcoming with massive red tape for a regular Haitian professional i.e. tourism specialists, engineers, accountants, skilled stonemasons etc.
Don’t forget the presence of the massive Chinese compound in Antigua; and the signing of the Ten (10) MOU
Trump is known for playing games people called strategic negotiating.
The sale of 12 ports in the Panama Canal, should provide a clue as to why Antigua is on the list.
Belize and Panama already made their deals on immigration and handing over ports in the Panama Canal; should provide them with an exemption.
Grenada was rumored to be a destination for migrants from other countries.
@Stay Alert,
What is CARICOM ?
What dies the free market among CARICOM members mean after 53 years?
What is the balance of trade between Antigua/Barbuda and Trinidad/Tobago?
What island nations benefit from the free movement of people?
How many Antiguans are living and working in Guyana?
The only reason why Guyana is not in the list, is because of its oil.
Maybe Gaston can release a statement to twitter praising trump, musk and Vance. Saying how thankful he is to them for trumps strong leadership, and reminding of our trade deficit with the US. Maybe offer a minerals deal for barbuda sand.
Just another ploy for this man to reverse is tune to make it look like he’s down us a favor. Oh please. Just another day in the mind of a crazy person.
He’s not going to last long. Just watch. And then it will be everyone’s fault but his own.
America you did this to yourselves. We will all suffer for it, BUT I will enjoy watching you reap what you sow, and from the looks of it, you are sowing already.
Let’s wait and hear Ambassador Saunders spin on this. Clearly the US want to put a squeeze on us for our Citizens by Investment Program. Dominica and St. Kitts also made this auspicious list.
F^$&&^#@ trump and the USA!! They think they go around bullying people!! They need to look in themselves before pointing fingers!! Reading some of these comments is f$%$### sad!! What is wrong with us!!
Wha CIP you a talk bout? You are trying to appease a crazy person. They didn’t even clarify what exactly landed Antigua and Barbuda on the yellow list. That’s because there is no just reason. Just kiss the potential embassy good bye, and prepare to forego all US treaties, etc for the next 4 years.
The real deal is Agenda 2025 its MAGA policies and agenda. Donald Trump is just the point guard recruited and signed by the Christian Conservatives to run their game, of Religious Right and might on the unsuspecting which many Caribbean people still bow down to. Donald Trump by himself is not the problem. The problem is the religious zealots who runs the US Congress.
People memories short, just recently antigua was used as a hub point for hundreds of fleeing Africans, we are in a state of distress, we have many illegal immigrants both here and in the states and we selling our citizenship. Trump taking care of his country, what we need is someone that cares enough to take care of our own the same way. You can be the good guy that makes everybody happy or the guy that does what needs to be done for your duty, obviously Trump is the latter. We need stronger leadership.
Sweet Antigua in everything right now
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