V.C. Bird International Airport in Antigua, one of the Caribbean countries on the U.S. draft travel restriction list, could face impacts if stricter visa rules or travel bans are enforced. Photo Credit: GETTY IMAGES
Several reports from U.S. mainland publications indicate that for several Caribbean islands, it is not just government officials at risk of having their ability to travel to the United States disrupted, but whole countries.
The New York Times, Reuters, and other publications obtained what it described as a “draft list of recommendations developed by diplomatic and security officials”, which identified three levels of travel restriction – a complete ban, severe visa restriction, and a probationary status. Eleven countries are on the “red” list, which would mean a prohibition on nationals from those countries entering the United States. Countries on the “red” list include Afghanistan, Cuba, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Venezuela, Yemen, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Bhutan.
Nationals of “orange” list countries, meanwhile, including Belarus, Pakistan, Russia, Myanmar, Eritrea, Haiti, Laos, Sierra Leone, South Sudan and Turkmenistan, may have their visas “sharply restricted.” These restrictions may include mandatory in-person interviews, or a ban on tourist and immigrant visa travel.
A larger list of yellow-coded countries will have 60 days to “address concerns,” according to the NYT report. These 22 countries are said to have various “deficiencies” that will need to be improved upon. Failure to comply may result in being moved to one of the more punitive lists, triggering more challenging visa issuance requirements or an outright travel ban.
Included in this list are four Caribbean nations – Antigua & Barbuda, St. Kitts & Nevis, Dominica, and Saint Lucia. The “concerns” of the government which landed these islands on the list may include perceived security threats surrounding their citizenship by investment programs and whether these can provide loopholes for citizens from banned countries to enter the United States using a CIP-granted passport.
The lists, NYT government sources say, may change in the days and weeks ahead as the draft proposal is reviewed by officials from the State Department and the nation's security and intelligence agencies.
The move hearkens back to President Trump's first term in office, during which he imposed travel bans on several majority Muslim countries. The stated rationale was national security—specifically, to prevent terrorism by restricting entry from countries deemed high-risk due to inadequate vetting or ties to extremist groups. The original order targeted seven countries: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen, all majority-Muslim, suspending their citizens’ entry for 90 days, halting refugee admissions for 120 days, and indefinitely barring Syrian refugees. While his first two attempts were struck down by the courts, the third version of the ban was allowed to stay in place for the duration of his presidency. One of President Joe Biden's first moves after he was elected was to reverse the policy, calling it “a stain on our national conscience.”
