Nigeria has been left off a new list of 43 countries, including 22 African nations, targeted for visa restrictions under U.S. President Donald Trump’s expanded immigration policy in a move to broaden the similar policy he had in place during his for term at the White House.
A draft list of recommendations developed by U.S. State Department and security officials following Mr Trump’s directive immediately he assumed in January, categorised countries in three tiers with each signifying total travel ban, restrictions on visas and chance to address U.S. concerns.
Similar to his first term policy, the majority of the countries on the proposed travel ban list are African and Muslim countries. Surprisingly, Nigeria was not included in the list despite the West African nation being among seven countries he targeted during his first tenure.
The decision to exclude Nigeria from potential travel ban has left observers wondering why Mr Trump has decided not to include the country this time since it is coming days after a congressional committee cleared him to impose sanctions on Nigeria over prosecutions of Christians.
There are 11 countries in the top tier list in the draft list recommended by the State Department and it is designated as the ‘red list’, with citizens of nations in the category facing a total ban from entering the United States.
Afghanistan, Bhutan, Cuba, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Venezuela and Yemen are the countries in the category.
The next category is designated as the ‘orange list’. It consists of 10 countries including Belarus, Russia, Pakistan, Haiti, Sierra Leone, Laos, South Sudan, Myanmar and Turkmenistan, with the proposal recommending sharp visa restrictions for their nationals.
The last category is the ‘yellow list’, which has 22 countries that would be given 60 days to clear up perceived deficiencies, with the threat of being moved onto one of the other lists if they did not comply.
Countries on the list include Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Chad, the Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Dominica, Equatorial Guinea, Gambia, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, São Tomé and Príncipe, Vanuatu and Zimbabwe.
Meanwhile, this list is not final and may change by the time it is released to the public as officials at U.S. embassies around the world and in regional bureaus at the State Department, and security specialists at other departments and intelligence agencies, are still reviewing the draft ahead of a final decision.
