The Trump administration is poised to roll out a sweeping travel ban that could impact citizens from up to 43 countries, including Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Russia, according to a report from The New York Times citing unnamed officials. The proposed restrictions, detailed in a draft list from security officials, sort nations into three tiers—Red, Orange, and Yellow—each with escalating levels of travel curbs.
Countries on the Red List face a total ban on entering the United States. Afghanistan and Bhutan headline this group of 11 nations, joined by Cuba, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Venezuela, and Yemen. For these citizens, the door to the U.S. would slam shut entirely.
Pakistan and Russia land on the Orange List, a group of 10 countries slated for restricted travel rather than an outright prohibition. While wealthy business travelers might still slip through, immigrants and tourists from these nations—including Myanmar, Belarus, Haiti, Laos, Eritrea, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, and Turkmenistan—would face tightened visa rules, including mandatory in-person interviews.
Meanwhile, a Yellow List of 22 countries—mostly from Africa and the Caribbean—gets a 60-day ultimatum to fix perceived security gaps or risk tougher restrictions. This roster includes Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Chad, Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Dominica, Equatorial Guinea, Gambia, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, São Tomé and Príncipe, Vanuatu, and Zimbabwe. The New York Times notes these deficiencies could range from poor traveler data-sharing with the U.S. to lax passport security or citizenship sales that might bypass the bans.
This marks Trump’s second crack at a travel ban, echoing his first-term restrictions on seven Muslim-majority nations—Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. That 2017 policy, dubbed the “Muslim ban” by critics, sparked chaos and legal battles before the Supreme Court upheld a revised version in 2018. The latest proposal, still under review, signals a broader and bolder approach to border control in Trump’s renewed tenure.