WASHINGTON (BN24) — President Donald Trump is reportedly considering an expansion of his travel ban to include Nigeria, Ghana, and 34 other countries, many of them in Africa, the Caribbean, and parts of Asia and Oceania, according to a leaked State Department memo reviewed by The Washington Post.
The internal directive, signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, was sent to U.S. diplomats over the weekend and outlines new travel restrictions unless the listed countries comply with stricter identity verification and immigration protocols within 60 days.
The memo cited concerns ranging from an inability to provide verifiable identity documents to high rates of U.S. visa violations by nationals of the affected countries. Notably, the guidance also provides exceptions for nations willing to accept deported third-country nationals, potentially easing other restrictions.
Among the countries named are 25 African nations, including Nigeria, Ghana, Egypt, Djibouti, Ethiopia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, alongside several Caribbean states such as Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Saint Lucia. The list also includes Bhutan, Cambodia, Kyrgyzstan, and Syria in Asia, as well as Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu in Oceania.
Governments of these 36 countries have been given a deadline of 8 a.m. Wednesday to submit an initial plan of action to meet the State Department’s new vetting requirements.
A State Department spokesperson declined to comment on the internal deliberations but emphasized that the agency “continually reviews policies to ensure the safety of American citizens and compliance with U.S. immigration law.”
The White House has not responded to requests for comment, and it remains unclear if or when the proposed restrictions will be enacted.
The move comes just one week after Trump reinstated his first-term travel ban, reimposing full entry bans on 12 countries and partial restrictions on seven others. In January, Trump signed an executive order instructing the State Department to identify nations with insufficient screening and vetting practices for possible suspension from the U.S. visa program.
The sweeping policy proposals are part of Trump’s wider anti-immigration agenda, which he says includes the “largest mass deportation operation” in U.S. history, and the revocation of visas and humanitarian protections for tens of thousands of foreign nationals.
The proposed additions to the travel ban list — particularly involving Nigeria and Ghana, two key U.S. economic and security partners in West Africa — are expected to spark diplomatic pushback and legal scrutiny if finalized.
