Rabat – The White House expanded its travel ban restrictions on Sunday to include three other countries: North Korea, Chad, and Venezuela.
The new travel ban, which will come into effect on October 18, represents a “critical step toward establishing an immigration system that protects American’s safety and security in an era of dangerous terrorism and transnational crime,” according to a statement issued Sunday by the administration of United States President Donald Trump.
“We cannot afford to continue the failed policies of the past, which present an unacceptable danger to our country,” said the US president.
On his official Twitter account, Trump said he is committed to ensuring the safety and security of the American people.
“Making America Safe is my number one priority. We will not admit those into our country we cannot safely vet.
For Venezuela, the ban is limited to members of government officials, police forces, intelligence services and their families.
In June, the US government issued a travel ban to block visitors from six Muslim-majority
countries from entering the US. The countries banned were Iran, Syria, Libya, Somalia, Yemen and Sudan.
Sudan has been dropped from the banned countries earlier this year, while Iraqi’s citizens will be subjected to “additional scrutiny” but will not face any block, reported British news outlet the Guardian.
Trump’s controversial travel ban sparked international outcry, especially in Muslim countries.
The travel ban, which targeted only Muslim-majority countries, is now the subject of legal suit by a collective of Democratic states and migrant advocacy groups.
The US Supreme Court is expected to hear arguments of the ban’s opponents on October 10.
Trump’s detractors have said that the ban, which until Sunday will exclusively reserved to
Muslim-majority countries, is “discriminatory.” However, as Trump’s latest order includes non-Muslim countries as well, the change might affect the challengers’ arguments, said British mediaoutlet the Guardian.
