According to sources familiar with the matter and an internal memo Donald Trump’s administration in Washington is considering imposing broad travel restrictions for the citizens of dozens of countries as part of a new ban. Pakistan has been placed in a group that would be considered for a partial suspension of visa issuing should their governments “do not make efforts to address deficiencies within 60 days”.
There are 41 countries listed in the document overall split into three distinct sections. Set for a complete visa suspension would be the first group of ten countries—includingDonald Trump’s administrationand North Korea among others.
With some exclusions, five nations— Eritrea, Haiti, Laos, Myanmar, and South Sudan—in the second category would suffer partial suspensions impacting tourist and student visas as well as other immigrant visas.
Should their governments “do not make efforts to address deficiencies within 60 days,” the document states, a total of 26 countries—including Belarus, Pakistan, and Turkmenistan among others—would be considered in the third group for a partial suspension of US visa issuing.
Speaking on the state of anonymity, a US official advised there might be revisions on the list and that the government, including US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, still has to approve them.
Initially covering the list of nations, the New York Times
The action recalls President Donald Trump’s first term ban on visitors from seven majority-Muslim countries, a policy that saw various modifications prior to the Supreme Court’s 2018 upholding.
On January 20, Trump issued an executive order mandating enhanced security screening of every foreign applicant for U.S. admission in order to identify national security concerns.
That directive sent various cabinet members to provide by March 21 a list of nations from which travel should be partially or totally suspended since their “vetting and screening information is so deficient”.
Starting his second term, Trump’s decision fits within an immigration crackdown he started.
Declaring to limit persons from the Gaza Strip, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Yemen and “anywhere else that threatens our security,” he announced his proposal in an October 2023 address.
