The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is considering a sweeping expansion of its travel restrictions, potentially adding 36 more countries to the list of nations whose citizens face full or partial bans on entering the United States. This move, detailed in an internal State Department cable signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and first reported by The Washington Post, is part of a broader immigration crackdown in Trump's second term.

According to the memo, the targeted countries span across Africa, the Caribbean, Asia, Central Asia, and the Pacific. The directive instructs U.S. diplomats to notify the listed countries that they have 60 days to meet stringent U.S. security, identity verification, and deportation cooperation benchmarks or face significant entry restrictions.

The expansion would nearly triple the number of countries currently subject to U.S. travel bans, increasing the total to 55. Previously, on June 4, Trump had signed a proclamation banning entry from 12 countries and restricting entry from seven others. The proposed new list includes Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Dominica, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Malawi, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, South Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Tonga, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

According to the memo, these countries have been identified as having "vetting and screening information so deficient as to warrant a partial or full suspension" of entry to the United States. Some lack a competent or cooperative central government capable of issuing reliable identity documents, while others exhibit widespread government fraud or fail to cooperate in accepting deported nationals. Additional concerns include high rates of visa overstays and reports of citizens involved in terrorism, antisemitic, or anti-American activities within the U.S.

The Trump administration’s position, as articulated in the cable, is that limiting entry from these countries will help secure the homeland and improve public safety. “The Department of State is committed to protecting our nation and its citizens by upholding the highest standards of national security and public safety through our visa process,” a senior State Department official stated.

Further, the memo emphasizes the need for foreign governments to be “fully cooperative” in repatriating their nationals and supporting U.S. deportation efforts. It also notes that specific restrictions could be lifted if countries take corrective actions, such as accepting deportees and improving identity documentation systems.

Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin reinforced the administration's position, stating, “This is a necessary step to garner cooperation from foreign governments to accept deportation flights of their own citizens, strengthen national security, and help restore integrity to the immigration system.”

Critics, including civil rights groups and Democratic lawmakers, have condemned the proposed expansion as discriminatory and xenophobic. They argue that the policy disproportionately targets African, Caribbean, and Muslim majority nations and echoes Trump’s earlier travel bans, including the controversial 2017 “Muslim ban,” which was eventually upheld by the Supreme Court in 2018 but later rescinded under the Biden administration.

The affected nations now face a 60-day countdown to present detailed plans addressing U.S. concerns. Failure to comply could not only result in travel bans but also strain diplomatic relationships and disrupt the lives of thousands of individuals with ties to the U.S. for education, work, or family.

The Trump administration has made clear that it views the expanded travel restrictions as essential to national security. While the White House has not publicly commented on the memo, President Trump has repeatedly emphasized his intent to “make the ban bigger than before.”