Trump to add Tanzania, Nigeria, Sudan to its travel ban list
Tanzania is among seven countries that Donald Trump’s administration plans to add to a group of nations subject to travel restrictions.
Nigeria, Belarus, Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar and Sudan are the countries that the administration has targeted according to Wall Street Journal.
VISITOR VISAS
The new restrictions would apply to travelers and immigrants from said countries and wouldn’t necessarily face blanket bans on travel to the US, but could have restrictions placed on specific types of visas, such as business or visitor visas.
Some countries could be banned from participating in the popular diversity visa lottery program, which awards green cards to people in countries with low levels of immigration to the US.
A White official told media that “not all of the restrictions are uniform,” adding that the proposal limits some immigrant visas from one country and other visas from another.
The plans, which are still under review, are based on interagency input from the departments of Homeland Security and State, as well as the White House, according to the official. President Donald Trump will make the final decision on changes to the ban.
CONTROVERSY
A source told CNN that the administration is focused on immigrant visas because of the difficulty in removing someone from the US who holds a green card or becomes a US citizen if derogatory information surfaces after someone travels to the US.
The administration plans to roll out its expanded travel restrictions on Monday, marking the three-year anniversary of the initial travel ban Trump signed on his seventh day in office, sparking controversy at the beginning of his term.
In the 2018 fiscal year, 24% of Eritreans on business or visitor visas overstayed their permits, along with 15% of Nigerians and 12% of people from Sudan.
Under the current version of the ban, citizens of Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria and Yemen, as well as some Venezuelan officials and their relatives are blocked from obtaining a large range of US immigrant and non-immigrant visas.
Chad was previously covered under the ban but was removed in April 2018.