The U.S government is considering placing travel restrictions on another 36 countries, based on an internal memo signed by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio (accessed by The Washington Post). The countries outlined in Rubio’s memo are expected to meet established benchmarks and requirements within 60 days of notice to avoid being placed on the list of banned countries. U.S. diplomats have also been instructed to enforce a deadline for countries to submit their initial action plans targeting the benchmarks that they have not yet met; this deadline is Wednesday, June 18th.
When the initial travel ban was released on June 4th, Trump stated that it was subject to change; countries could be removed from the list if material improvements were made. Additionally, countries could be added to the list if new threats emerged. It’s been less than two weeks since the initial list was released, and the State Department’s memo shows plans to double the number of countries on the list. If all are approved, foreign nationals from a total of 55 countries would face partial or full restrictions on entry into the United States. Below are the countries included in the State Department’s memo, sent out Saturday. Of the 36 countries, 25 are in Africa. The list also includes various Caribbean nations.
· 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
· Zimbabwe
The countries listed above were recommended for travel restrictions; the restrictions are not yet in place. We will keep you updated. In the meantime, if you have any questions, we would be happy to speak with you.