Trump orders new total restriction on entry to the U.S. for seven countries
Citizens with total restrictions on entering the U.S. are from the countries of Burkina Faso, Laos, Mali, Niger, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, and Syria
President Donald Trump ordered a total restriction on entry to the United States for seven countries, bringing the total to 39 nations with partial or complete restrictions on entry to the country. This measure aims to reinforce the tightening of immigration and national security policy. The measure adopted by Trump is due to the attack suffered on November 26th by two members of the National Guard in Washington, D.C., when an Afghan citizen shot them, resulting in the death of Sarah Beckstrom. The new countries added to the list: Citizens who are now completely barred from entering the United States are from the countries of Burkina Faso, Laos, Mali, Niger, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, and Syria. The order signed by the president also made it clear that all persons seeking to enter the country with travel documents issued or endorsed by the Palestinian National Authority are barred, EFE reported. The White House maintained that many of these countries exhibit “widespread corruption, fraudulent or unreliable civil documents, and criminal records that are difficult to verify, factors that complicate the risk assessment for authorizing travel to the United States,” The Associated Press.
It should be recalled that the Trump Administration had already denied visas to Palestinian officials who planned to attend the UN General Assembly held in September.
Restrictions on these countries
Regarding the restricted countries, the president had already placed partial restrictions on citizens of Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Ivory Coast, Dominica, Gabon, Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Last June, he decreed a total ban on Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.
The first countries added to that list are Burundi, Cuba, Togo, and Venezuela.
“Lack of information to assess risks”
With the current expansion, 19 countries are now subject to a total travel ban to the United States, in addition to the Palestinian National Authority, while another 19 face partial restrictions, EFE reported.
“The restrictions and limitations imposed by this proclamation are, in my judgment, necessary to prevent the entry or admission of foreign nationals about whom the United States Government lacks sufficient information to assess the risks they pose to the country,” states the order signed by Trump.