The Donald Trump administration is reportedly weighing broad travel restrictions affecting citizens from 43 countries as part of a new immigration ban, continuing the crackdown that began with his second term in January.
According to The New York Times, an internal memo categorizes these countries into three groups based on the severity of proposed restrictions.
The first group (Red List) consists of 11 countries whose citizens would face a complete travel ban to the U.S.: Afghanistan, Bhutan, Cuba, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Venezuela, and Yemen.
The second group (Orange List) includes 10 nations where travel would be restricted but not entirely banned. While wealthy business travelers might still be allowed entry, immigrant and tourist visas would be largely off-limits. The affected countries are Belarus, Eritrea, Haiti, Laos, Myanmar, Pakistan, Russia, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, and Turkmenistan.
The third group (Yellow List), the largest with 22 countries, would have 60 days to address certain compliance issues or risk being moved to a more restrictive category. Nations in this group include Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Congo, Dominica, Equatorial Guinea, Gambia, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, São Tomé and PrÃncipe, Vanuatu, and Zimbabwe.
A U.S. official, speaking anonymously, noted that the list was subject to change and had yet to receive final approval from the Trump administration, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio.