During his first presidential term, President Trump implemented a travel ban which prevented citizens from specific countries from entering the United States. President Trump justified the Executive Order outlining the ban as an effort to protect the United States from foreign terrorists. While the 2017 travel ban was initially blocked by various judges who called the ban discriminatory (as the list was mostly comprised of Muslim countries), the executive order was modified and eventually passed. By 2020, the travel ban had been revised 3 times.
According to a memo draft outlining the details of a new travel ban, 46 countries have been listed for travel restrictions, each classified under 1 of 3 designations: red, orange, or yellow. The memo was produced by multiple security officials and is pending approval from both the Trump Administration and Marco Rubio, the US Secretary of State.
What does each designation mean?
Citizens from red-listed countries would be fully banned from entering the United States. The countries currently on the red list include:
– Afghanistan
– Bhutan
– Cuba
– Iran
– Libya
– North Korea
– Somalia
– Sudan
– Venezuela
– Yemen
Citizens from orange-listed countries would not be entirely banned from entering the United States. However, citizens from these countries would encounter heavy restrictions and scrutiny. According to information released by the New York Times, all citizens would be denied entry into the United States unless they are wealthy individuals traveling for business. The countries currently on the orange list are the following:
– Belarus
– Eritrea
– Haiti
– Laos
– Myanmar
– Pakistan
– Russia
– Sierra Leone
– South Sudan
– Turkmenistan
The yellow list is not a classification that establishes a travel ban. Countries who have been placed on the yellow list have demonstrated security issues which the Trump administration will require them to amend to prevent their redesignation to orange or red. Countries that are yellow listed will have 60 days to provide the United States with the appropriate information required to avoid redesignation. The yellow list is the largest of the three, currently containing 22 countries:
– Angola
– Antigua and Barbuda
– Benin
– Burkina Faso
– Cambodia
– Cameroon
– Cape Verde
– Chad
– Republic of Congo
– Democratic republic of Congo
– Dominica
– Equatorial Guinea
– Gambia
– Liberia
– Malawi
– Mali
– Mauritania
– St. Kitts and Nevis
– St. Lucia
– Sao Tome and Principe
– Vanuatu
– Zimbabwe
Instituting a travel ban, especially one so large, would have widespread consequences for both individuals overseas and citizens of potentially banned countries who are currently in the United States. While the travel ban is not in effect yet, it’s important to stay up to date on these eventual restrictions. We will keep you posted in the event the Trump Administration institutes this travel ban
If you believe you may be affected by the possible travel ban, contact us and we would be happy to speak with you.