United States President Donald Trump is reportedly considering expanding his controversial travel ban to include Nigeria and over 30 other countries, most of them from Africa.
According to a report by The Washington Post, the potential ban is part of an internal memo signed by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The memo lists 36 countries that could face new travel restrictions or visa limitations unless they comply with updated requirements from the U.S. State Department.
African nations featured heavily on the list, including Nigeria, Ghana, Ethiopia, Cameroon, Senegal, and Côte d’Ivoire. Others named are Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Gabon, Gambia, Liberia, Malawi, Mauritania, Niger, São Tomé and Príncipe, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
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The list also includes several Caribbean and Asian nations like Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Bhutan, Cambodia, Kyrgyzstan, Syria, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.
These countries are expected to submit an initial plan of action by Wednesday to show how they will meet the new U.S. requirements. They will then have a 60-day window to comply fully, or risk being hit by the ban.
This move follows a series of immigration crackdowns under Trump’s administration. In March, the U.S. government had already considered a similar restriction on 43 countries, though Nigeria wasn’t among them at the time. The countries were grouped into red, orange, and yellow categories, with each facing varying levels of visa or entry restrictions.
Then, in June, President Trump signed an executive order enforcing a full travel ban on 12 countries, including Afghanistan, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, and Yemen.
Since beginning his second term in January, Trump has doubled down on harsh immigration policies, resulting in mass deportations and expanded travel restrictions across the globe.
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