The Donald Trump administration is reportedly considering a comprehensive travel restriction on citizens of 43 countries, part of a new ban that continues the immigration crackdown initiated by the U.S. president at the start of his second term in January.
The New York Times reported that internal memorandums divided the countries into three separate categories.
The first group (called the “red list”) includes 11 countries: Afghanistan, Bhutan, Cuba, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Venezuela and Yemen. It is believed that their citizens are “publicly banned” to the United States.
The second group (“Orange List”) includes 10 countries where travel will be restricted but not cut off. For their part, wealthy business travelers can be allowed to enter the United States, rather than those who use immigration or tourist visas. The group includes Belarus, Eritrea, Haiti, Laos, Myanmar, Pakistan, Russia, Sierra Leone, South Sudan and Turkmenistan.
The third category (yellow list) is the largest of the three countries in three and has 60 days to clear out perceived flaws, which threatens one of the other groups if not followed.
It includes Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Congo, Dominica, Equatorial Guinea, Gambia, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, São Tomé and Príncipe, Vanuatu and Zimbabwe.
A U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, warned that there could be changes on the list and that it has not been approved by the Trump administration, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
