The notorious travel ban enacted by the Trump administration has now been expanded, CNN reports, to include six additional countries. Immigration restrictions will be imposed on Nigeria, Eritrea, Tanzania, Sudan, Kyrgyzstan and Myanmar (known as Burma), excluding immigrants who have been of service to the United States. This amendment has caused similar backlash as the initial travel ban signed three years ago, which was heavily perceived as Trump's efforts to ban Muslims from the U.S. In the same vein, many see the addition of these mostly African countries as a discriminatory measure. However, the White House maintains that the travel ban is essential to the upkeep of national security.
After the Trump admin went to the Supreme Court in 2018, the third iteration of the travel ban was upheld after previous versions were challenged in court. The current policy prevents seven countries from entry to varying degrees: Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Yemen, Venezuela, and North Korea. Chad was taken off the list last April due to its enhancement in security measures. Unlike the original ban, this new adjustment only includes categories of immigration visa applicants. While only green card lotteries will be restricted from Sudan and Tanzania, all immigrants from Burma, Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan and Nigeria will be banned from the U.S. The updates to this policy were made in the wake of the U.S.'s efforts to deal with the Coronavirus outbreak in China. The White House announced on Friday that foreign nationals who have traveled through China in the last 14 days would be denied entry to the country.
