Trump says U.S. will add more countries to travel ban list
US President Donald Trump said his administration was preparing to add a "couple of countries" to the controversial list of states whose citizens are subject to travel bans or severe restrictions on entry to the United States. "We are adding a couple of countries to it. We have to be safe. Our country has to be safe," he said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, adding that the names of the new countries would be announced "very shortly".
- World
- Reuters
- Published Date: 07:09 | 22 January 2020
- Modified Date: 07:13 | 22 January 2020
The United States is moving to add more countries to its travel ban list, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday, but gave no other details, saying the changes would be announced soon.
The Trump administration is planning to add seven countries - Belarus, Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Nigeria, Sudan and Tanzania - to the list, U.S. media reported on Tuesday.
The Wall Street Journal reported earlier that the administration planned to add seven countries including Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, and others in Africa and Asia.
It said the other nations being considered for new rules were Belarus, Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Sudan and Tanzania.
The first package of travel bans and restrictions -- targeting mainly Muslim majority countries -- were announced shortly after Trump took office in January 2017 and outraged his critics.
According to the Politico newsite, the planned move does not necessarily ban all citizens from nations listed from entering the U.S. but the restrictions may target only certain government officials or types of visas.
Trump's executive order, largely seen as a "Muslim ban," was imposed soon after he took office and placed travel restrictions on anyone attempting to enter the U.S. from majority-Muslim countries of Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen, along with North Korea and Venezuela.
The ban was heavily criticized and faced multiple legal battles, forcing the administration to revise it.
After a third iteration, it was finally upheld by the Supreme Court in a 5-4 vote in June 2018.