IN a retaliatory move, the Republic of Mali and Burkina Faso have announced travel restrictions on American nationals, preventing them from coming into the nations.
The announcement was made by both countries in statements by their respective foreign ministries on Wednesday, stating clearly that the move was in a retaliation of the inclusion of their nations in the U.S. no-entry list.
Burkina Faso’s foreign ministry disclosed that it was applying equivalent visa measures on Americans. Mali, on its part, stated that it was also applying the same conditions and requirements on American nationals.
However, Nigeria, which is also on the list, will not impose any ban on the U.S, which recently bombed terrorists on its territory in Sokoto. Both Burkina Faso and Mali are ruled by military juntas.
Trump’s ban
Mr Trump had on December 16 added Nigeria to the list of nations on partial entry restrictions to the United States in a new measure targeted at “protecting the security of the United States.” It also added Mali and Burkina Faso to the list.
A new Proclamation released by the White House on Tuesday said that President Trump added Nigeria and 14 other nations to the list of countries partially restricted from entering the U.S., which also include Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Dominica, Gabon, The Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Malian transitional president Colonel Assimi Goïta
On the reason for including Nigeria to the list, the Proclamation said, “Radical Islamic terrorist groups such as Boko Haram and the Islamic State operate freely in certain parts of Nigeria, which creates substantial screening and vetting difficulties. According to the Overstay Report, Nigeria had a B-1/B-2 visa overstay rate of 5.56 percent and an F, M, and J visa overstay rate of 11.90 percent.”
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The U.S. said the Proclamation continued the full restrictions and entry limitations of nationals from the original 12 high-risk countries established under Proclamation 10949. These high-risk nations, according to the Proclamation, included: Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.
The Proclamation added full restrictions and entry limitations on 5 additional countries based on recent analysis. These nations included: Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan, and Syria. This is where the ban on Mali and Burkina Faso emanated.
It also added full restrictions and entry limitations on individuals holding Palestinian-Authority-issued travel documents. It also imposed full restrictions and entry limitations on 2 countries that were previously subject to partial restrictions: Laos and Sierra Leone, the White House factsheet showed.
It also continued partial restrictions of nationals from 4 of the 7 original high-risk countries: Burundi, Cuba, Togo, and Venezuela.
“Because Turkmenistan has engaged productively with the United States and demonstrated significant progress since the previous Proclamation, this new Proclamation lifts the ban on its nonimmigrant visas, while maintaining the suspension of entry for Turkmen nationals as immigrants,” the Proclamation factsheet showed.
“The Proclamation includes exceptions for lawful permanent residents, existing visa holders, certain visa categories like athletes and diplomats, and individuals whose entry serves U.S. national interests,” the factsheet said.
“The Proclamation narrows broad family-based immigrant visa carve-outs that carry demonstrated fraud risks, while preserving case-by-case waivers.”
Protecting the U.S.
The factsheet further said that restrictions and limitations imposed by the Proclamation were necessary to prevent the entry of foreign nationals about whom the United States lacked sufficient information to assess the risks they posed, garner cooperation from foreign governments, enforce immigration laws, and advance other important foreign policy, national security, and counterterrorism objectives.
The Proclamation stated that it was the president’s duty to take action to ensure that those seeking to enter the country would not harm the American people.
“After consulting with cabinet officials and in light of the original report pursuant to Executive Order 14161, Proclamation 10949, and country-specific information gathered since, President Trump has determined that the entry of nationals from additional countries must be restricted or limited to protect U.S. national security and public safety interests.
“The restrictions are country-specific in order to encourage cooperation with the subject countries in recognition of each country’s unique circumstances. Many of the restricted countries suffer from widespread corruption, fraudulent or unreliable civil documents and criminal records, and nonexistent birth-registration systems—systemically preventing accurate vetting.”
The Proclamation further said that some nations refused to share passport exemplars or law-enforcement data, while others permitted Citizenship-by-Investment schemes that concealed identity and bypass vetting requirements and travel restrictions.
It further noted that some countries’ high visa-overstay rates and refusal to repatriate removable nationals demonstrated disregard for U.S. immigration laws and burden American enforcement resources.
“Terrorist presence, criminal activity, and extremist activity in several listed countries result in a general lack of stability and government control—which causes deficient vetting capabilities and poses direct risks to American citizens and interests when nationals from these countries are admitted to the United States.”
