Rights groups react to Trump’s expanded travel ban

The move by President Donald Trump to add Nigeria and six other countries to its expanded travel ban list has been condemned by civil organisations in the United States of America.

Reacting to the expanded list, Immigrant advocates and rights groups on Friday slammed the expansion of President Trump’s controversial travel ban, saying it weaponises “immigration law to advance [the administration’s] xenophobic agenda”.

The rights groups decried Friday’s announcement, saying the “Trump administration continues to push white supremacist and exclusionary policies that discriminate on the basis of faith, national origin, and immigration status”.

“From scapegoating Muslims with the Muslim Ban to now expanding the same restrictions to other immigrant communities of colour, the Trump administration continues to weaponize immigration law in order to advance its xenophobic agenda,” said Javeria Jamil, a state lawyer at the National Security & Civil Rights of Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus.

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A Senior Department of Homeland Security official said that the restrictions signed into law on Friday by President Trump on entering the U.S. will now apply to certain travelers and migrants from Nigeria, as well as Sudan, Tanzania, Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan and Myanmar.

Explaining further, the Homeland Security official said that immigration visas will be suspended for Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Eritrea, and Nigeria under the new plan whilst access to the diversity lottery program will be limited for Sudan and Tanzania, and the new restrictions will go into place in 21 days.

The six countries will join a list of seven nations, most of them Muslim-majority, which include; Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Yemen, Venezuela and North Korea, that faced significant travel restrictions under President Trump’s original travel ban, issued in 2017.

However, unlike five of the original countries—Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen—travelers from the newly added nations who seek to visit the U.S. for business or pleasure will still be permitted entry.

Trump said that the travel ban was vital to national security and ensures countries meet US security needs when it comes to sharing vital information that can prevent and fight terrorism.

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