Is Trump planning an ‘Africa visa ban’?

United States President Donald Trump could importantly grow his travel prohibition list successful the adjacent fewer weeks to see 36 much countries, 26 of which are successful Africa, US media reports say, citing internal government documents.

With 10 countries already included connected Trump’s archetypal list, citizens of 36 of Africa’s 54 nations could present beryllium banned, afloat oregon partially, from entering the US if the caller database takes effect. This would marque Africa the most-banned portion of the satellite erstwhile it comes to travelling to the US.

The visa bans are portion of Trump’s promised migration crackdown, which has been successful question since helium took bureau successful January, and which has already seen citizens of 19 countries successful Africa and the Middle East banned oregon severely restricted from entering the US.

In a memorandum sent to US representatives successful the affected countries connected June 14, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the governments of those countries had been fixed 60 days to conscionable standards dictated by the Department of State. The memo besides requested that those countries supply an archetypal enactment program successful enactment with gathering those measures by June 18.

That deadline has present passed. It is unclear if immoderate of those countries person submitted the requested plans of action.

Here’s what we cognize astir the imaginable Africa question bans and who could beryllium affected:

How galore African countries are connected the list?

Of the 36 caller countries mentioned successful the reported memo, 26 are successful Africa: Angola; Benin; Burkina Faso; Cabo Verde; Cambodia; Cameroon; the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC); Djibouti; Ethiopia; Egypt; Gabon; The Gambia; Ghana; Ivory Coast; Liberia; Malawi; Mauritania; Niger; Nigeria; Sao Tome and Principe; Senegal; South Sudan; Tanzania; Uganda; Zambia; and Zimbabwe.

Others connected the database are successful the Caribbean, Asia, the Pacific and the Middle East: Antigua and Barbuda, Bhutan, Cambodia, Dominica, Kyrgyzstan, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Syria, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.

Countries which neglect to code concerns raised by the Trump medication adequately could beryllium recommended for a prohibition arsenic aboriginal arsenic August, the memo says.

Seven African countries were included connected Trump’s first database of 12 countries wholly banned from entering the US from June 4. They are Somalia, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Libya, Eritrea, Equatorial Guinea and Sudan. Three others – Sierra Leone, Burundi and Togo – were named connected a abstracted database of 7 countries which present look partial restrictions connected their citizens, meaning immoderate constricted US visa categories are inactive unfastened to them.

This brings the full to 36 of Africa’s 54 countries connected a imaginable prohibition database for question to the US.

Creole-language quality airs connected a TV arsenic barber Charlemagne Merilien, who moved to the US pursuing Haiti’s 2010 earthquake to financially enactment his woman and 5 children inactive successful Haiti, cuts a client’s hairsbreadth wrong Els Beauty Salon successful Miami’s Little Haiti neighbourhood connected June 6, 2025 [Rebecca Blackwell/AP Photo]

Why is Trump banning citizens of African countries?

Saturday’s memo gave a wide scope of reasons for a imaginable prohibition connected the countries affected. It did not supply justifications circumstantial to each country, but cautioned that countries had been flagged for abstracted reasons.

Some of the countries are designated arsenic “sponsors of terrorism” oregon person citizens who were “involved with acts of coercion successful the United States”, according to 1 crushed given. Others, arsenic per the memo, bash not person a credible “government authorization to nutrient reliable individuality documents”, person unreliable transgression records, oregon merchantability citizenship to radical who bash not unrecorded successful their countries.

High rates of visa overstays by citizens of immoderate countries were besides cited arsenic reasons to curb travellers, arsenic good arsenic a deficiency of practice by states erstwhile it comes to taking backmost citizens who person been deported from the US.

Affected countries could code US concerns by agreeing to judge backmost deportees – adjacent those originating from different countries – oregon agreeing to go a “safe 3rd country” that volition instrumentality successful radical seeking asylum successful the US, the memo stated. Mineral-rich DRC proposed specified a woody to the White House successful March.

In aboriginal June, erstwhile the archetypal question prohibition database was released, Trump stated successful a video connection released by the White House that a caller onslaught connected a pro-Israel rally successful Boulder, Colorado, “underscored the utmost dangers posed to our state by the introduction of overseas nationals who are not decently vetted”.

Suspect Mohamed Sabry Soliman, an Egyptian nationalist who has besides lived successful Kuwait, has since been arrested and charged with a national hatred transgression and respective different authorities charges. His woman and 5 children are presently detained by US migration officials. Egypt is present being considered for a ban, though Kuwait is not connected either database of countries facing visa bans.

This is not the archetypal clip Trump has banned citizens of different countries, which critics constituent retired thin to beryllium non-white and low-income nations. During his archetypal statesmanlike term, a arguable and highly-challenged policy, which came to beryllium known arsenic the “Muslim ban”, saw 7 Muslim-majority countries connected a reddish database that aboriginal expanded to see immoderate low-income African nations. Former President Joe Biden rescinded the prohibition erstwhile helium took bureau successful 2021.

Chad’s President Idriss Deby (centre) is welcomed by his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron (right) and then-European Council main Charles Michel during the EU-AU acme successful Brussels, Belgium, February 17, 2022 [Olivier Hoslet/Reuters]

How galore radical from African countries unrecorded successful the US?

About 2 cardinal of the US’s 44 cardinal migrant colonisation travel from African nations, according to information from the US-based Migration Policy Institute. Nearly fractional of African immigrants migrated to the US aft 2010, according to the US Census Bureau, and correspond the fastest-growing migrant bloc successful caller years.

Many African immigrants are highly educated with 1 oregon much degrees, and correspond the largest migrant radical successful the labour force, the bureau reported. About 61 percent are naturalised US citizens.

Here’s a breakdown of migrant numbers by state betwixt 1960 and 2023, according to data from the Migration Policy Institute:

• Nigeria – 476,000
• Ethiopia – 278,200
• Ghana – 241,000
• Egypt – 225, 665
• Liberia – 100,800
• Somalia – 92,400
• Cameroon – 90,700
• DRC – 62,500
• Eritrea – 49,755
• Sierra Leone – 45,532
• Tanzania – 40,420
• Togo – 37,000
• Cabo Verde – 31,441
• Senegal – 28,581
• Ivory Coast – 25,426
• Zimbabwe – 24,490

How mightiness these radical beryllium affected?

Trump’s question bans are apt to origin a large woody of uncertainty for radical who already unrecorded successful the US, experts say.

Michelle Mittelstadt, manager of communications astatine the Migration Policy Institute, told Al Jazeera astatine the clip of the archetypal question prohibition announcement: “For citizens of these countries surviving successful the US who are not naturalised citizens, the question prohibition astir apt volition frost them successful place, arsenic galore volition beryllium fearful that they mightiness not beryllium permitted re-entry if they permission the US temporarily.”

Mittelstadt added that the question prohibition could divided families, “given the inability to question legally to the US oregon use for a imperishable oregon impermanent visa, arsenic good arsenic the immobility this volition confer connected galore citizens of these countries who are already successful the US”.

How often bash radical from these countries question to the US?

According to Statista, astir 588,177 visitors from Africa travelled to the US successful 2024. A humanities breakdown by state is not available.

This year, nary African state is connected the database of the apical 20 countries visiting the US, according to data from the US Department of Commerce. About 100,000 visitors person been recorded truthful far, from the African continent, mostly from:

• South Africa – 24,800
• Nigeria – 18,093
• Egypt – 13,376
• Ghana – 7,018
• Kenya – 5,409

How are African countries responding to the looming US visa ban?

Nigeria’s Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar warned this week that the US could miss retired connected indispensable and uncommon world mineral deals if it bans citizens of West African countries.

“This would beryllium astir unfortunate if it comes to walk due to the fact that we are a portion of opportunities acceptable to bash deals,” Tuggar, who presently chairs the determination bloc Economic Community of West Africa’s (ECOWAS) assembly of overseas ministers, said successful a gathering with his counterparts. He cited Nigeria’s reserves of lipid and gas. The state is besides affluent successful tantalite and uranium.

Sarang Shidore, manager of the Global South programme astatine US deliberation vessel Quincy Institute, told Al Jazeera that visa bans were akin to “building walls” betwixt the US and targeted regions.

“Africa, particularly, is important to the United States arsenic it is simply a tract of earthy resources, a increasing market, and a talented population,” Shidore said. “If Washington wants to restrict migration and question from the continent, it should find other, non-militarised ways of demonstrating US committedness to stronger relations with African states.”

Trump has so appeared to beryllium keen connected striking deals for uncommon world minerals, important for the manufacturing of smartphones and electrical conveyance batteries.

For example, Washington and Beijing are acceptable to motion an statement that volition spot China supply uncommon world elements and minerals important for manufacturing tech gadgets and weapons, successful speech for continued entree to US schools for Chinese students, according to a societal media station by Trump past week.

Last month, the US besides announced an agreement with Ukraine implicit uncommon world minerals successful instrumentality for assistance successful rebuilding the state erstwhile the warfare with Russia is over.

When the archetypal question prohibition database was announced astatine the commencement of June, Chad responded to its inclusion by suspending visas for US citizens. In a Facebook post, President Idriss Deby said: “I person instructed the authorities to enactment successful accordance with the principles of reciprocity and suspend the issuance of visas to US citizens.”

According to the astir caller figures from the US Department of Homeland Security, nationals of Chad had the highest visa overstay rate, astatine 49.5 percent of those arriving successful the country.

Other affected African nations person struck a much conciliatory tone.

Sierra Leone’s Information Minister Chernor Bah said successful a connection that his state was acceptable to cooperate with the US. “Our cognition to this is, what much tin we do? How tin we collaborate with our US partners, with whom we person and judge volition support a precise bully relationship,” helium said.

Trump’s archetypal proclamation successful aboriginal June said Sierra Leone, which is present taxable to partial restrictions, “has historically failed to judge backmost its removable nationals”.

Somalia’s ambassador to the US, Dahir Hassan, said the East African state wanted to enactment with the US. “Somalia values its longstanding narration with the United States and stands acceptable to prosecute successful dialog to code the concerns raised,” helium said.

Trump’s proclamation described Somalia arsenic “a violent harmless haven” and stated: “Somalia lacks a competent oregon cooperative cardinal authorization for issuing passports oregon civilian documents and it does not person due screening and vetting measures.”

The African Union, meanwhile, successful a connection connected June 5, called connected the US to follow a much constructive attack and to dialog with African nations to support what it said were historically beardown ties.

“The African Union respectfully calls upon the US Administration to see adopting a much consultative attack and to prosecute successful constructive dialog with the countries concerned. The Commission appeals for transparent communication, and wherever necessary, collaborative efforts to code immoderate underlying issues that whitethorn person informed this decision,” the AU connection said.