Reports: U.S. Planning To Add Belarus, Kyrgyzstan To Travel Ban List

The U.S. administration is considering adding Belarus and Kyrgyzstan to its travel-ban list, along with four African countries and Burma, according to media reports.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) quoted officials as saying on January 21 that the countries wouldn’t all face blanket bans on travel to the United States, but could have restrictions placed on specific types of visas.

President Donald Trump said in an interview with the WSJ he was considering adding countries to the travel ban, but declined to say which ones.

The list of countries, which reportedly also includes Burma, Eritrea, Nigeria, Sudan, and Tanzania, "is not yet final and could be changed," according to the website Politico, which said an announcement was expected as early as January 27.

Trump's original order, issued three years ago, targeted citizens of seven majority-Muslim nations, but it was later modified as it went through legal challenges.

The courts eventually allowed restrictions on the entry of some citizens from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen, along with Venezuela and North Korea.

White House spokesman Hogan Gidley declined to give any details about plans to expand the list, but said the original order had been “profoundly successful in protecting our country and raising the security baseline around the world."

"If a country wants to fully participate in U.S. immigration programs, they should also comply with all security and counter-terrorism measures — because we do not want to import terrorism or any other national security threat into the United States," Gidley said in a statement.

Based on reporting by The Wall Street Journal and Politico