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The Donald Trump administration is considering imposing a new travel ban that could affect citizens from as many as 43 countries, including Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Russia, The New York Times reported, quoting anonymous officials.
A draft list of recommendations by security officials proposes categorising countries into three groups--Red, Orange, and Yellow--to restrict travel. Being placed on the Red List would mean a complete ban on entering the United States. Pakistan and Russia are included in the "Orange List," which consists of 10 countries facing restricted travel rather than an outright ban. Affluent business travelers might be allowed to enter, but immigrant and tourist visa applicants would face restrictions. Citizens on that list would also be subjected to mandatory in-person interviews in order to receive a visa, as reported by The New York Times. Other countries in the "Orange List" include Myanmar, Belarus, Haiti, Laos, Eritrea, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, and Turkmenistan. The draft also places 10 countries, including Afghanistan and Bhutan, on the Red List, meaning their citizens could face a full visa suspension. The other countries on the Red List are Cuba, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Venezuela and Yemen, The New York Times reported. The proposal also includes a draft "yellow" list of 22 countries that would be given 60 days to clear up perceived deficiencies, with the threat of being moved onto one of the other lists if they did not comply. As reported by The New York Times, the issues could include failing to share with the United States information about incoming travelers, purportedly inadequate security practices for issuing passports, or the selling of citizenship to people from banned countries, which could serve as a loophole around the restrictions. That list includes Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Chad, the Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Dominica, Equatorial Guinea, Gambia, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, Sao Tome and Principe, Vanuatu and Zimbabwe. Notably, this will be the second time that Donald Trump would impose a travel ban, after having done so in his first term when he restricted the citizens from seven Muslim-majority nations, a policy that went through several iterations before it was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2018. That ban targeted citizens of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen, Al Jazeera reported. (ANI)
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