The US plans to expand the number of countries covered by its travel ban to more than 30, the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Kristi Noem, has announced.
Noem, in an interview on Fox News’s The Ingraham Angle on Thursday evening, was asked to confirm whether the Trump administration would be increasing the number of countries on the travel ban list to 32.
“I won’t be specific on the number, but it’s over 30, and the president is continuing to evaluate countries,” she said.
Donald Trump signed a proclamation in June banning the citizens of 12 countries from entering the United States and restricting those from seven others, saying it was needed to protect against “foreign terrorists” and other security threats.
The bans apply to both immigrants and non-immigrants, such as tourists, students and business travelers.
Noem did not specify which countries would be added to the list.
“If they don’t have a stable government there, if they don’t have a country that can sustain itself and tell us who those individuals are and help us vet them, why should we allow people from that country to come here to the United States?” Noem said.
Reuters previously reported that the Trump administration was considering banning citizens of 36 additional countries from entering the US, according to an internal state department cable.
An expansion of the list would mark a further escalation of migration measures the administration has taken since the shooting of two National guard members in Washington DC last week.
Investigators say the shooting was carried out by an Afghan national who entered the US in 2021 through a resettlement program under which Trump administration officials have argued there was insufficient vetting.
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Days after the shooting, Trump vowed to “permanently pause” migration from what he termed all “third world countries”, although he did not identify any by name or define that label.
Immigration groups and lawmakers sharply criticized the escalation and plan to halt immigration applications from 19 countries that were already under US travel restrictions, a decision that comes amid reports that naturalization ceremonies for people on the travel ban list are also being canceled.
Before that, officials from the DHS said Trump had ordered a widespread review of asylum cases approved under the administration of his predecessor, Joe Biden, and green cards issued to citizens of 19 countries.
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