U.S. President Donald Trump speaks within the Oval Workplace on the White Home in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 10, 2025.
Nathan Howard | Reuters
U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration is contemplating considerably increasing its journey restrictions by probably banning residents of 36 extra international locations from getting into the USA, in line with an inside State Division cable seen by Reuters.
Earlier this month, the Republican president signed a proclamation that banned the entry of residents from 12 international locations, saying the transfer was wanted to guard the USA in opposition to “overseas terrorists” and different nationwide safety threats.
The directive was a part of an immigration crackdown Trump launched this 12 months at first of his second time period, which has included the deportation to El Salvador of a whole bunch of Venezuelans suspected of being gang members, in addition to efforts to deny enrollments of some overseas college students from U.S. universities and deport others.
In an inside diplomatic cable signed by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the State Division outlined a dozen considerations in regards to the international locations in query and sought corrective motion.
“The Division has recognized 36 international locations of concern that is likely to be really helpful for full or partial suspension of entry if they don’t meet established benchmarks and necessities inside 60 days,” the cable despatched out over the weekend stated.
The cable was first reported by the Washington Put up.
Among the many considerations the State Division raised was the dearth of a reliable or cooperative authorities by a few of the international locations talked about to provide dependable identification paperwork, the cable stated. One other was “questionable safety” of that nation’s passport.
Some international locations, the cable stated, weren’t cooperative in facilitating the removing of its nationals from the USA who had been ordered to be eliminated. Some international locations had been overstaying the U.S. visas their residents had been being granted.
Different causes for concern had been the nationals of the nation had been concerned in acts of terrorism in the USA, or antisemitic and anti-American exercise.
The cable famous that not all of those considerations pertained to each nation listed.
“We’re continually reevaluating insurance policies to make sure the protection of People and that overseas nationals comply with our legal guidelines,” a senior State Division official stated, declining to touch upon particular inside deliberations and communications.
“The Division of State is dedicated to defending our nation and its residents by upholding the very best requirements of nationwide safety and public security by our visa course of,” the official stated.
The international locations that would face a full or a partial ban if they don’t tackle these considerations throughout the subsequent 60 days are: 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, and Zimbabwe.
That might be a big enlargement of the ban that got here into impact earlier this month. The international locations affected had been Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Congo Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
The entry of individuals from seven different international locations – Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela – has additionally been partially restricted.
Throughout his first in workplace, Trump introduced a ban on vacationers from seven Muslim-majority nations, a coverage that went by a number of iterations earlier than it was upheld by the Supreme Courtroom in 2018.
