The Trump administration is considering restrictions on travelers from as many as 43 countries as it works to address national security concerns, The New York Times reported Friday, citing government officials.
The officials shared a list of countries that were flagged for review, noting that the administration has been working with the State Department and intelligence agencies as it finalizes new visa rules.
When it comes, the travel ban is expected to include a few different levels of restrictions.
Travelers from countries believed to pose the biggest risk to national security will be completely banned from entering the U.S., while travelers from countries will slightly less serious issues will have to go through extra screening to secure a visa. Still other countries will have a certain period of time to address security concerns in hopes of avoiding a ban.
The draft list obtained by The New York Times shows 11 countries on the “red” list, meaning all travel would be banned: Afghanistan, Bhutan, Cuba, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Venezuela and Yemen.
“It is ... not clear whether people with existing visas would be exempted from the ban, or if their visas would be canceled. Nor is it clear whether the administration intends to exempt existing green card holders, who are already approved for lawful permanent residency,” The New York Times reported.
New travel ban
New restrictions on foreign travelers have been expected since President Donald Trump returned to the White House.
On Inauguration Day, he signed an executive order that instructed the State Department to identify countries with deficient vetting and screening processes.
The order gave officials 60 days to complete the task; their deadline is next week.
In the text of the executive order, Trump argued that travel restrictions are necessary in order to protect Americans and prevent the exploitation of immigration laws.
“It is the policy of the United States to protect its citizens from aliens who intend to commit terrorist attacks, threaten our national security, espouse hateful ideology, or otherwise exploit the immigration laws for malevolent purposes,” Trump wrote.
Travel ban lawsuits
Trump issued multiple travel bans during his first term, which were met with widespread protests and multiple lawsuits.
Opponents of the bans noted that most of the countries subject to travel restrictions were Muslim-majority nations and claimed that government officials had been motivated by anti-Muslim bias rather than national security concerns.
The Trump administration responded to the pushback by issuing new bans on a more narrowly tailored list of countries.
Still, one of the travel ban lawsuits made it all the way the Supreme Court, which ruled in June 2018 that the travel restrictions could stand since the president has broad authority to direct immigration policy.
“The proclamation is squarely within the scope of presidential authority,” wrote Chief Justice John Roberts in the majority opinion, as the Deseret News reported at the time.