TRAVEL
How Africa is Disproportionately Affected by the Trump Administration's Travel Ban
A weekend diplomatic cable from the State Department directed embassies and consulates in 36 countries to assess their host governments' readiness to enhance travel documentation for their citizens and to take action on the status of their nationals living illegally in the United States.
Staff Writer 
According to reports, in January 2025, the Trump administration drafted a list of 43 countries to be considered for a new travel ban.
22 African countries are affected out of the 43 countries, the New York Times reports. Officials revealed to the New York Times that the list was divided into three categories of travel restrictions.
According to officials quoted by the Times, the drafted countries were categorized into red, orange, and yellow lists to indicate the level of restriction. The following are the lists and number of countries affected.
First, the Red List: This category comprises 11 nations that would be completely restricted from entering the United States.
Second, the Orange List: Ten countries are on the Orange List. Nationals of these countries will not face a complete ban. However, they will be subject to limited entry into the U.S. and additional travel restrictions.
Third is the Yellow List: Sixteen of the 22 countries in this category are African. Citizens of countries on the Yellow List are given 60 days to address concerns raised by the Trump administration. Any country that fails to meet these concerns may be moved to the red or orange list.
In mid-June, the administration announced its plans to add 36 more countries, mostly African nations, to the travel ban if they do not meet the deadline to commit to improving vetting of travelers. A weekend diplomatic cable from the State Department directed embassies and consulates in 36 countries to assess their host governments' readiness to enhance travel documentation for their citizens and to take action on the status of their nationals living illegally in the United States.
Background
It may be recalled that the Trump administration's ban on African countries came about after a 2015 terrorist attack in California, USA. Trump, a presidential candidate at the time, claimed that Muslims were behind the attack and asked for a ban on Islamic countries.
After winning the elections, the Trump administration released a list of seven countries, including three African nations, in 2017.
On January 27, 2017, the travel ban was imposed with Executive Order 13769, titled "Protecting the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States." It was also labeled the "Muslim ban."
Affected countries included Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Sudan, and Somalia. Venezuela and North Korea were later added to the list. North Korea's case was a reverse ban, which prohibited American citizens from traveling there.
Other countries added to the list in 2020 included Tanzania, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Eritrea, and Nigeria. These countries may experience denials or delays in visa applications.
