US President, Donald Trump Plans To Add Nigeria And Six Other Nations To Travel Ban List

President Donald Trump is planning to add seven countries to its travel ban list that restricts the flow of immigrants and visitors into the United States.

According to Wall Street Journal (WSJ), Belarus, Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Nigeria, Sudan and Tanzania will be added to the travel ban list.

People from these countries may not necessarily be totally banned from travelling to the US, but could face restrictions on specific types of visas, such as business or visitor visas.

WSJ reports that government officials familiar with the development disclosed that list of countries is not yet final yet, it could change.

Donald Trump said in an interview with the WSJ that he was considering adding countries to the travel ban, but declined to state which ones.

A senior Trump administration official said that countries that failed to comply with security requirements, including biometrics, information-sharing and counter-terrorism measures, faced the risk of limitations on U.S. immigration.

The expanded travel restrictions is expected tobe announced on January 27, 2020 — the three-year anniversary of the initial travel ban Trump had signed on his seventh day in office as the US President.

According to the Reuters, the move is likely to sour ties between the United States and the countries affected under the expanded ban.

Nigeria, for example, Africa’s largest economy and most populous country, is a U.S. anti-terrorism partner and has a large diaspora residing in the United States.

Under the current version of the ban, citizens of Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria and Yemen, as well as some Venezuelan officials and their relatives are blocked from obtaining a large range of U.S. immigrant and non-immigrant visas.

Chad was previously covered under the ban but was removed in April 2018.

Citizens of the countries can apply for waivers to the ban, but they are exceedingly rare.

KanyiDaily recalls that a US Congressman, Christopher Smith had called on President Trump to sanction any Nigerian authority or official who manipulates elections.

He said: I urge the Trump Administration to monitor the evolving situation closely, and not to hesitate to use its sanctioning authority to hold accountable any officials who subvert the electoral process or foment violence against citizens.”