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By Ted Hesson
WASHINGTON, Jan 29 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump
said he plans to expand his travel ban to bar people from
several additional countries, a move that could again reignite
questions about whether the policy discriminates against
Muslims.
Trump said during a visit to Davos, Switzerland, last week
that his administration planned to add "a couple of countries"
to the ban, but did not give further details.
According to a source familiar with a draft version, the
tentative list of nations included Belarus, Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan,
Myanmar, Nigeria, Sudan and Tanzania. IS TRUMP ISSUING A NEW BAN NOW?
Trump is seeking re-election in November and has made
immigration restrictions a central focus of his 2020 campaign.
The revised ban could appeal to Republican voters and
Trump's stance will contrast with the current crop of Democratic
candidates. A 2017 survey by Politico-Morning Consult found that
83 percent of Republican voters backed the policy.
The announcement of the ban's expansion is expected to come
as soon as this week, according to a Department of Homeland
Security (DHS) official who requested anonymity to discuss the
process. The timing is close to the third anniversary of its
original release, which occurred within days of Trump's January
2017 inauguration.
The travel ban went through three iterations, all which were
challenged in federal court. The current version — issued as a
presidential proclamation in September 2017 — requires the DHS
to review the visa restrictions every 180 days and permits the
addition or removal of countries. The ban was upheld by the U.S.
Supreme Court in June 2018 and includes a periodic review of
whether countries should be added or taken off the list.
WHY INCLUDE THESE SEVEN COUNTRIES?
The Trump administration has not publicly announced the
countries under consideration for the expanded travel ban, nor
given reasoning for targeting specific nations. But Reuters
confirmed that the administration has weighed visa restrictions
against Belarus, Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Nigeria, Sudan
and Tanzania, a list first reported by Politico.
The country list could change before Trump issues the new
ban, the DHS official said. The U.S. State Department declined
to comment, while the DHS and the White House did not respond to
requests for comment.
Margaret Huang, executive director of Amnesty International
USA, suggested during a call with reporters on Tuesday that
barring countries such as Myanmar and Eritrea, where the
organization has documented human rights violations, could make
it more difficult for migrants seeking safety in the United
States.
Several of the countries on the possible target list, such
as Nigeria and Tanzania, have strong economic and
security-related ties to the United States.
In 2017, Trump reportedly complained that Nigerian
immigrants coming to the United States would never "go back to
their huts" in Africa, according to a New York Times report that
year. The White House denied at the time that Trump referenced
"huts" in the discussion.
Nigeria received no warning from Washington that it could be
subjected to the new ban, a Nigerian government minister said on
Monday. DID THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION EVALUATE COUNTRIES?
As directed by the current ban, the DHS completed a
worldwide review of countries last year that evaluated whether
the entry of their nationals into the United States could cause
a public safety threat, according to the DHS official and a
second department official.
The review examined each country's ability to verify the
identity of its own nationals, information sharing practices
with the United States, and possible terror or public safety
risks, the officials said.
State Department officials then attempted to work with the
countries to remedy outstanding issues, a step that removed some
countries from consideration, according to the officials.
Ultimately, Trump will decide the countries that will be
subjected to the visa restrictions, the officials said.
WHO WILL BE BANNED?
The updated travel ban will be tailored and not outright bar
all travelers from the countries, according to the two DHS
officials.
Instead, the countries will be subjected to a range of visa
restrictions with a focus on immigrant visas, according to one
of the officials. Such visas - unlike a visitor visa - can lead
to permanent residency.
Since it's implementation in December 2017, at least 79,769
visa applications have been subject to the ban, according to
date from the State Department. Of those, 6,333 qualified for
exceptions and another 17,798 were granted waivers, but a
federal lawsuit claims the waiver process is opaque and
difficult to navigate.
IS THE TRAVEL BAN DISCRIMINATORY?
During Trump's presidential campaign in 2015, he called for
"a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United
States."
After he issued the first version of his travel ban, critics
derided the order — which targeted travelers and immigrants from
seven Muslim-majority nations — as a "Muslim ban."
Three of the nations under consideration for the updated ban
— Kyrgyzstan, Nigeria and Sudan — have majority Muslim
populations. Eritrea and Tanzania have sizable Muslim
minorities.
The list of countries currently subject to visa restrictions
include five Muslim-majority nations — Iran, Libya, Somalia,
Syria and Yemen. North Korea and Venezuela also faced visa
restrictions, but those measures affect relatively few
travelers. Litigation over the ban is continuing.