The Trump administration gave 36 countries a Wednesday deadline to commit to improve the vetting of travelers or face a ban on their citizens visiting the United States, according to the Associated Press.
A weekend diplomatic cable sent by the State Department instructs embassies and consulates in the 36 countries to gauge their host countries’ willingness to improve their citizens’ travel documentation and take steps to address the status of their nationals who are in the United States illegally.
The 36 countries identified in the new cable are: Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Dominica, Ethiopia, Egypt, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Malawi, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, South Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Tonga, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The Trump administration has already put into effect a full or partial travel ban on 19 countries.
State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce declined to comment on the specifics in the cable, which was first reported by The Washington Post. She confirmed that the administration wanted nations to improve their own vetting processes for passport holders, accept their nationals deported from the U.S. and take other steps to ensure their citizens are not a threat to the U.S., the AP said.
It was not immediately clear if the ban would be imposed on countries that commit to making improvements and are making progress in addressing them but fail to meet the benchmarks within 60 days.
