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About one week after imposing a travel ban on seven African countries, the Donald Trump-led US administration is considering imposing a visa ban and other travel restrictions on citizens of Nigeria and 24 other African countries.
The Washington Post reported that this was documented in a memo signed by the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, and sent to the diplomats who work in the affected countries on Saturday.
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In total, 36 countries are currently being reviewed for the additional ban.
Aside from Nigeria, other African countries listed in the memo are Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Malawi, Mauritania, and Niger.
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Others are Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. At the same time, the non-African countries are Antigua and Barbuda, Bhutan, Cambodia, Dominica, Kyrgyzstan, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Syria, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.
The 11 non-African countries on the list are Antigua and Barbuda, Bhutan, Cambodia, Dominica, Kyrgyzstan, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Syria, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.
The administration’s attempt to further expand travel restrictions on previously targeted countries marks an escalation in its crackdown on immigration.
Reason for ban
In the memo, the US authorities outlined a list of benchmarks which the countries allegedly failed to meet.
It indicated that some of the countries had no functioning or cooperative central authority to issue reliable ID or civil documents.
Others, the memo said, were plagued by widespread government fraud.
In several cases, large numbers of citizens from these countries had overstayed their US visas.
It also pointed to issues, like countries offering citizenship in exchange for money without requiring residency and allegations that some individuals from these countries had engaged in antisemitic or anti-American activity while in the US.
Meanwhile, the memo stated that countries agreeing to take back third-country nationals deported from the US or sign a “safe third country” agreement could help ease some of these concerns.
The US has given affected countries 60 days to meet the benchmark
It also set a deadline of 8 a.m. on Wednesday for Nigeria and other affected countries to provide an initial action plan for meeting the requirements.
African countries most affected by US ban
African countries have been among the most affected by President Trump’s travel restrictions since the beginning of his second administration.
The previous ban imposed after Mr Trump signed the proclamation banning citizens of 12 countries from entering the US affected 7 African countries.
Earlier in the year, US government officials developed a draft of 43 countries likely to be banned, 22 of which were African countries.
Nigeria, however, was not on that list.
PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported that the African Union Commission warned that the arbitrary travel restrictions imposed on African countries by the US government could strain decades-long diplomatic relations between the two sides.
The commission said the US government needs to adopt a more balanced and evidence-based approach in its decision making.
“The African Union Commission respectfully appeals to the United States to exercise this right in a manner that is balanced, evidence-based, and reflective of the long-standing partnership between the United States and Africa,” it said.
