US foes and friends alike are getting caught up in Trump’s global campaign against immigration.
The Donald Trump administration is indefinitely suspending immigrant visa applications for people from 75 countries, including almost half of Africa.
Consular officers have been told to stop processing applicants from 26 African nations starting 21 January while the State Department reassesses how it weighs the likelihood that foreigners could become a “public charge” on US taxpayers. Most of the suspended countries are in Africa and Latin America.
The latest edict brings the total number of African countries facing total or partial restrictions to 39, almost three-quarters of all 54 nations on the continent.
“The State Department will use its long-standing authority to deem ineligible potential immigrants who would become a public charge on the United States and exploit the generosity of the American people,” State Department spokesperson Tommy Piggott said in a statement. “Immigration from these 75 countries will be paused while the State Department reassess immigration processing procedures to prevent the entry of foreign nationals who would take welfare and public benefits.”
An earlier State Department memo in November instructed consular officers to weigh a range of factors – including “health, age, English proficiency, finances and even potential need for long-term medical care” – to assess whether applicants are likely to rely on public benefits.
The affected African countries are : Algeria, Cameroon, Cabo Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Libya, Morocco, Nigeria, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia and Uganda.
The new list includes a mix of countries that the US has a difficult relationship with (Somalia, Eritrea) and regional powerhouses (Nigeria, Ethiopia) but also key US allies (Egypt, Morocco, Côte d’Ivoire) and countries that the US has been courting for their minerals (Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Guinea).
Also on the list are Senegal and Liberia, among the countries that Trump invited for his working lunch with African leaders last year.
