On June 16, many media outlets reported that 36 countries around the world—including Ghana—face new travel restrictions into the United States of America. According to the New York Times a June 14 State Department memo it intercepted expands travel ban on these additional countries mostly in Africa.
On June 4, President Trump issued a Proclamation that restricted foreign nationals from 12 countries from entering the United States, in what he described as a measure to “protect the United States from foreign terrorists and other national security and public safety threats.” During his first term in office, Mr. Trump issued similar proclamation. That faced legal challenges and the Supreme Court ultimately declared it as constitutional.
Many people have asked the question—regarding the 36 additional countries that face the travel restrictions—has the ban taken effect?
The answer is NO. The ban hasn’t taken effect yet. The State Department’s memo, according to the New Times, states that the governments of these new 36 countries must improve on certain benchmarks within a period of 60 days to avoid the travel ban. In the memo, as reported by the NYT, these countries “must take immediate action to mitigate ongoing vetting and screening concerns, develop corrective action plans to remediate deficiencies and evaluate progress.”
The State Department, in a statement on June 18 stated “The State Department is committed to protecting our nation and our citizens by upholding the highest standards of national security and public safety through our visa process. A U.S. visa is a privilege, not a right.”
So as of now, there is no travel ban on any of these 36 countries. The governments of these countries just have to comply with the requests of the U.S. government within 60 days to avoid the travel restrictions.mmigration laws for malevolent purposes.”