Eric Patrick
President Donald Trump’s administration is considering imposing a new round of travel restrictions that could affect up to 36 countries, including Nigeria.
An internal memo signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio outlines a proposal that may lead to visa restrictions or outright entry bans on countries that fail to meet new U.S. immigration and security standards.
The affected nations have been given a 60-day deadline to comply with these requirements or face possible sanctions.
Most of the countries on the proposed new list are from Africa, the list includes Nigeria, Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Malawi, Mauritania, Niger, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
The memo cites various reasons for these potential restrictions, including the inability of some governments to provide reliable identity or civil documents, or the prevalence of systemic fraud and administrative weaknesses.
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Other countries named in the document include Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Bhutan, Cambodia, Kyrgyzstan, Syria, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.
All countries on the list are expected to submit an initial plan of action to the State Department by Wednesday, detailing how they intend to meet the new criteria.
Earlier in March, the Trump administration had considered travel restrictions on 43 nations, though Nigeria was not included at the time.
Those countries were classified into three categories—red, orange, and yellow. Nations in the red category faced full entry bans, the orange group faced severe visa limitations, while the yellow group was given 60 days to address the U.S. government’s concerns.