Several Caribbean nations could face travel restrictions to the United States under a draft proposal for a new travel ban reportedly being considered by the Trump administration.
According to a New York Times article, the administration is contemplating restrictions affecting citizens from as many as 43 countries across three tiers of severity.
Cuba stands alone as the only Caribbean nation included in the most severe “red” tier, which would completely bar citizens from entering the United States. The red list comprises 11 countries total, including Afghanistan, Bhutan, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Venezuela, and Yemen.
Photo: The New York Times
Haiti appears on the “orange” list of 10 countries whose citizens would face sharp restrictions but not a complete ban.
Under this tier, affluent business travellers might still be permitted entry, while those seeking immigrant or tourist visas would face obstacles.
Citizens from these countries would also be subjected to mandatory in-person interviews to receive visas. Other countries on this tier include Belarus, Eritrea, Laos, Myanmar, Pakistan, Russia, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, and Turkmenistan.
Most concerning for the region is the inclusion of multiple Eastern Caribbean nations on the “yellow” list of 22 countries that would be given 60 days to address perceived deficiencies in their security protocols. Dominica, Antigua and Barbuda, St Kitts and Nevis, and St Lucia are all included in this tier.
The New York Times, reporting on the draft list, notes that countries could be moved to more restrictive tiers if they fail to address concerns such as inadequate passport security practices, failure to share traveller information with the United States, or the selling of citizenship to individuals from banned countries.
“The officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive internal deliberations, cautioned that the list had been developed by the State Department several weeks ago, and that changes were likely by the time it reached the White House,” the Times reported.
