Why Donald Trump has implemented travel ban as president 'considers adding another 36 countries' to list
In case you've been living under a rock, Donald Trump has been making some pretty significant changes in the US since returning to the Oval Office earlier this year, especially when it comes to immigration.
One of the 79-year-old's biggest policies has been an anti-immigration one, and that has been reflected in his controversial actions to deport thousands of people from the US, going as far as to officially classify some people as dead in an attempt to get them to leave America.
Earlier this month, Trump confirmed that he would reinstate a law which he brought in during his first term, which was to ban people from certain countries from visiting the US and now reports are suggesting that list is only going to get larger.
What is Trump's travel ban list?
The travel ban list essentially does what is says on the tin, in that anyone travelling from 12 countries cannot visit the US unless they are deemed to be exempt, for example if they are an athlete competing in a US event.
In January, Trump signed an executive order asking the State Department to identify countries 'for which vetting and screening information is so deficient as to warrant a partial or full suspension' on nationals from those countries, and the law came into effect on 9 June.
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People from Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen are all currently banned, while another seven countries face 'partial bans'. These include; Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.
Which countries are now facing the US travel ban?
A memo which was sent on Saturday lists another 36 countries who could now face the ban, unless major changes are made in the next 60 days to convince Trump and his government that they should be omitted.
They include 25 from Africa, four from Asia, four in the Caribbean and three from Oceania, with the full list here.
Why is Trump implementing the travel ban?
It has been alleged by Trump's State Department that some of the countries on the list have not met various benchmarks, such as having 'no competent or cooperative central government authority' to provide reliable identity documents, while a large number of citizens from those countries are also said to have violated the terms of their visas when previously visiting the US.
Trump has recently called immigrants in the US 'illegal aliens' and given the current riots in LA, he shows no signs of stopping when it comes to cracking down on immigration.
What has Trump said about the travel ban?
Trump said in his order that he 'must act to protect the national security and national interest of the United States and its people'.
In a video message posted on Truth Social, the president referenced the recent attack on a pro-Israel rally in Colorado, which had 'underscored the extreme dangers posed to our country by the entry of foreign nationals who are not properly vetted'.
"We will not let what happened in Europe happen to America." Trump added. "Very simply, we cannot have open migration from any country where we cannot safely and reliably vet and screen those who seek to enter the United States.
"We will not allow people to enter our country who wish to do us harm."
Topics: Donald Trump, US News, World News
James Moorhouse