UPDATE: The story has been amended to include Haiti on the “orange” list.
WASHINGTON, CMC – Six Caribbean nations—Saint Lucia, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, St. Kitts and Nevis, Cuba, and Haiti —have been included in a proposed list of countries facing potential travel restrictions under the Trump administration.
According to The New York Times, the proposal developed by diplomatic and security officials categorizes countries into three levels of restrictions: a “red” list of 11 nations whose citizens would be flatly barred from entering the United States, including Cuba and Venezuela; an “orange” list of 10 countries, which includes Haiti, for which travel would be restricted but not cut off; and a “yellow” list of 22 nations, including the four Eastern Caribbean nations, which would be given 60 days to clear up perceived deficiencies, with the threat of being moved to one of the other lists if they did not comply.
The reasons for the countries’ categorization were not given. Still, the New York Times report said concerns might include inadequate security practices for issuing passports, insufficient information-sharing on travelers, or selling citizenship to people from banned countries.
All the Caribbean islands on the yellow list have Citizenship by Investment programs, which allow foreign investors to obtain citizenship.
Cuba and Venezuela, meanwhile, are long-standing adversaries of US foreign policy.
If implemented, the proposed restrictions would significantly expand the travel bans imposed during President Donald Trump’s first term. However, according to The New York Times, the final decision rests with the White House, and the list may be subject to change.
During his first presidency, Trump’s travel bans faced legal challenges, but the US Supreme Court upheld a revised version banning citizens from eight nations, six of them predominantly Muslim. His successor, Joe Biden, revoked the bans in 2021.
With Trump back in office, his administration argues that reinstating the bans is necessary to protect US citizens “from aliens who intend to commit terrorist attacks, threaten our national security, espouse hateful ideology or otherwise exploit the immigration laws for malevolent purposes.”
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