The Trump administration is weighing a plan to bar travelers from 36 additional countries, a sweeping expansion of the president’s revived travel ban, according to an internal State Department cable.
What Happened: The classified memo, signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and seen by those over at Reuters, gives the targeted nations 60 days to improve identity-document security, share terrorism data and accept deportees or face full or partial entry suspensions.
The list, first reported by The Washington Post, builds on a June 4 proclamation that already blocks citizens of 12 countries and partially restricts seven more.
Officials cite “questionable security” of passports, non-cooperation on removals and past terrorism links among the reasons for possible penalties.
Here’s the full list of countries according to Reuters:
Africa: Egypt, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Angola, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, São Tomé and Príncipe, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Malawi, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Asia: Bhutan, Cambodia, Kyrgyzstan and Syria
Oceania: Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu
Caribbean: Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Saint Kitts and Nevis and Saint Lucia
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Why It Matters: The contemplated move comes amid a broader second-term immigration crackdown that has already deported hundreds of Venezuelans branded as gang suspects and tightened foreign-student visa rules.
The new 36-country roster is being hailed as the administration’s most aggressive action yet, noting its reach into Africa, Asia and the Caribbean. A State Department spokesperson told Reuters that the agency “constantly reevaluates policies to ensure Americans’ safety” but declined to confirm deliberations.
Immigration advocates condemned Trump’s travel ban on 12 nations earlier in June, recalling the 2017 “Muslim ban” that roiled airports before the Supreme Court upheld a revised version in 2018.
The 36 governments have until early August to prove they can verify traveler identities and swiftly accept nationals ordered removed from the United States.
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