Trump Expected to Impose Sweeping Travel Restrictions, Targeting Over a Dozen Nations
Washington – Former President Donald Trump is poised to enact a far-reaching travel ban, potentially impacting citizens from more than a dozen countries, including Iran and Venezuela, as early as Friday. This initiative follows through on campaign promises and directives issued during his first day back in office, signaling a renewed commitment to stringent border security measures.
Trump has instructed his administration to establish rigorous vetting and screening protocols for individuals seeking entry into the United States. As part of this process, he mandated the submission of a list of countries that fail to meet these standards by March 21st. This directive also encompassed the identification and potential removal of nationals from designated countries who entered the U.S. during the Biden administration, raising concerns about retroactive enforcement.
The anticipated actions have the potential to be even more expansive than the controversial travel ban implemented during Trump’s first term, which primarily targeted seven majority-Muslim countries. That initial ban triggered widespread chaos at airports and faced numerous lawsuits alleging religious discrimination. While Trump ultimately secured Supreme Court approval for a revised version of the ban in 2017, his latest executive order aims to build upon the existing framework, with cabinet members tasked with expanding its scope.
This time around, the Trump administration has reportedly adopted a more deliberate and structured approach to implementing the travel ban. The restrictions are expected to be based on the extent to which countries collect and share information on international travelers. Furthermore, Trump is poised to benefit from a more conservative Supreme Court, which could prove advantageous in the face of potential legal challenges to his executive actions.
According to reports, a list of over 40 countries is currently under consideration for potential travel restrictions. The countries include, Afghanistan, North Korea, Cuba, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Yemen and even tiny Bhutan, a majority-Buddhist Himalayan nation.
The State Department declined to comment on the ongoing deliberations.
During his campaign, Trump repeatedly vowed to reinstate the travel ban, emphasizing the need to protect the nation from "radical Islamic terrorists." On January 20th, he issued an executive order directing cabinet members to identify countries "for which vetting and screening is so deficient as to warrant a partial or full suspension" of admission to the U.S.
The executive order also requires the identification of "how many nationals from those countries" have entered or been admitted to the United States since January 20, 2021, the first day of former President Joe Biden’s term.
Trump has tasked four individuals with producing the report: Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.
The Trump administration is reportedly structuring its second-term ban in a tiered manner, categorizing nations based on their level of information sharing with the U.S. and perceived national security threats.
Countries on the "red" list would face a complete ban on travel to the U.S., while those on the "orange" list would be subject to visa restrictions. A lower tier of nations would receive notice from the administration, urging them to address identified problems.
According to The New York Times, which obtained a draft list of recommendations, travel could be banned from 11 countries: Afghanistan, Bhutan, Cuba, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Venezuela, and Yemen.
Trump previously banned travel from most of these countries, with exceptions for visa and green card holders. Bhutan and Cuba were not included in Trump’s earlier travel ban. The State Department currently lists Cuba as a state sponsor of terror.
Another 10 countries, including Russia and Belarus, could face sharp visa restrictions. The remaining 22 countries, many of which are African nations, would have 60 days to address security concerns. Their placement on the list could be adjusted based on their response.
Reuters has also reported on a similar memo, but cautioned that the list had not been finalized and may not have been approved by the Secretary of State.
Former acting DHS secretary Chad Wolf, now an executive vice president at the Trump-aligned America First Policy Institute, suggested that the final list may differ from the initial recommendations.
"Not all those countries will likely survive being on the list, because the staff is just looking at what they were told, what were their instructions, which were to ascertain and to evaluate each country," Wolf said. "But there’s other decisions at play on whether a country gets a travel restriction or not."
"There are other geopolitical issues," Wolf added. "That’s why it goes to the Secretary of State. That’s why others will weigh in on those decisions."
Wolf indicated that the administration intends to communicate to countries that travel restrictions will remain in place until they enhance their information sharing with the U.S. or provide specific data.
One factor under consideration is the frequency with which a country reports lost or stolen passport data to Interpol.
"What we found the first time around is a lot of countries just didn’t report that in a timely manner," said Wolf, who worked on Trump’s earlier travel ban.
The State Department previously denied the existence of a list and stated that it did not create the memorandums that have been circulating.
"There is a review, as we know through the president’s executive order, for us to look at the nature of what’s going to help keep America safer, in dealing with the issue of visas and who’s allowed into the country," said Tammy Bruce, the spokeswoman for the State Department, on Monday.
Unlike Trump’s initial travel ban in 2017, which faced court challenges for allegedly discriminating against Muslims, the current iteration reportedly does not focus exclusively on Muslim-majority countries. Bhutan, Cuba, North Korea, and Venezuela, all of which lack Muslim majorities, are reportedly being considered for outright bans.
The inclusion of Bhutan on the potential travel ban list has raised eyebrows, given its small size and peaceful reputation.
Trump’s first travel ban, issued in January 2017, was blocked by a court, which ruled that the order violated due process rights without sufficient national security justification. A revised version, issued in March 2017, was also blocked by another court. However, the Supreme Court ultimately upheld the third iteration of the travel ban, signed in September 2017.
In its 2018 decision, the Supreme Court outlined a lengthy process used to create the third travel ban, highlighted ways that certain foreign nationals could obtain exceptions to the ban, and argued that the Trump administration was acting in "legitimate national security interest."
The current process mirrors the one outlined in Trump’s January 20th executive order. However, critics have signaled their intention to challenge fresh aspects of the new administration’s policies, including attempts to retroactively apply visa restrictions to individuals who entered the country during the Biden administration.
The International Refugee Assistance Program (IRAP), which sued during the first administration, stated that its next steps will depend on the specific details of the anticipated ban.
"Our team will be analyzing it as soon as it comes out to identify what those challenges might look like," said Stephanie Gee, senior director of US legal services at IRAP. "To the extent there are arguments to be made that the action is unlawful, there are a lot of organizations who will be looking to bring challenges."
Trump has already begun implementing aspects of his executive order, which allows the Secretary of Homeland Security to "take immediate steps" to exclude or remove foreign nationals from countries with inadequate vetting standards.
The order cites advocacy for "foreign terrorist" groups and "hostile attitudes" towards U.S. "citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles" as grounds for visa rejection and possible removal.
The Trump administration recently deported a kidney doctor with a work visa after she attempted to enter the country on a flight to Boston. The Department of Homeland Security claimed she had "sympathetic photos and videos" of a leader of Hezbollah on her phone.
"A visa is a privilege not a right," the department said on X. "Glorifying and supporting terrorists who kill Americans is grounds for visa issuance to be denied. This is commonsense security."
Federal authorities have also arrested Mahmoud Khalil, a pro-Palestinian activist attending graduate school at Columbia University. Khalil was in the U.S. legally.
Senator Marco Rubio stated that the visas and green cards of Hamas supporters in America will be revoked and that they will be deported.
The State Department acknowledged that it is conducting a review of all visa programs, as mandated by Trump’s order but declined to say whether it had made any formal recommendations or when they could go into effect.
The Trump administration’s report recommending countries for a travel ban is due on Friday, March 21.
