Although Trump did not re-impose the "travel ban" on the "first day" of his second term as promised, he issued an executive decree on January 20, 2025, directing cabinet members to draft a list of countries that will face a complete or partial travel ban due to "serious shortcomings in checking and verifying information within 60 days."
With the deadline approaching, a preliminary list of countries that could be banned from entering the US has begun to spread, according to the New York Times. A White House official confirmed to The Independent that there is still no final decision.
The US State Department has made the list a few weeks ago, but there may be changes when the list is sent to the White House.
According to The Independent, the draft list is divided into three levels - red, orange and yellow - to represent the level of limitation.
The "red" list includes 11 countries whose citizens will be completely banned from entering the US: Afghanistan, Bhutan, Cuba, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Venezuela and Yemen.
The "hamlet" list includes 10 countries where their citizens will be restricted from entering the country but not completely banned, meaning they must have a specific visa, including Belarus, Eritrea, Haiti, Laos, Myanmar, Pakistan, Russia, Sierra Leone, South Sudan and Turkmenistan. Citizens of these countries will have to participate in a direct interview to apply for a visa.
The "golden" list includes 22 countries, mainly African countries, which have been warned by the US for 60 days to improve the security check process. If they do not meet the requirements, they could be put on the "red" or " Nhung" list.
This list includes Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Dominica, Guinea Saigon, Gambia, Cuba, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, St Kitts and Nevis, St Petersburg, Sao Tome and Principe, Vanuatu and Zimbabwe.
US security experts and diplomatic officials at the US State Department are reviewing the list and assessing the accuracy of the "missing points" cited by the Trump administration. Some experts believe that these criteria may be more politically motivated than practical security issues.
In the executive decree dated January 20, President Trump said the travel ban would "protect US citizens from foreigners who intend to carry out terrorist attacks, threaten national security, support a hateful ideology or take advantage of immigration laws for bad purposes."
Previously, on the first day of office in 2021, President Joe Biden signed a decree to lift Mr. Trump's entry ban, citing that it was "not in line with the tradition of welcoming all religions of the United States".
