NewsOnline Nigeriareports that United States President Donald Trump is reportedly considering imposing a travel ban on Nigeria and a host of other countries, mostly from Africa.
An internal memo signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Saturday outlines a proposal that could impose visa restrictions or entry bans on up to 36 additional nations, reports Washington Post.
These countries are expected to comply with newly established requirements from the US State Department within a 60-day timeframe or face potential travel restrictions.
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The new list includes Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Egypt, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Malawi, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Others are Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Bhutan, Cambodia, Kyrgyzstan, Syria, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.
The memo identified varied benchmarks that, in the administration’s estimation, these countries were failing to meet. Some countries had “no competent or cooperative central government authority to produce reliable identity documents or other civil documents,” or they suffered from widespread government fraud.” Others had large numbers of citizens who overstayed their visas in the United States, the memo said.
The countries on the new list are also expected to submit to the State Department, on Wednesday, an initial plan of action to meet the new requirements.
The news organisation noted that a State Department spokesperson said the agency would not comment on internal deliberations or communications. It also said the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.