US Confirms Another Travel Ban Could Target Four Caribbean Nations

• The United States (US) State Department has confirmed that President Donald Trump is considering a travel ban targeting 36 countries, including four in the Caribbean.
• Over the weekend, the Washington Post reported that Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, St Kitts-Nevis, and St Lucia were named in a leaked State Department document signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and circulated to US diplomatic missions, regarding potential travel restrictions. The memo reportedly cites concerns tied to these countries’ citizenship-by-investment programmes.
• Under the Citizen by Investment (CBI) programme, foreign investors are granted citizenship in exchange for substantial contributions to national development. These four Caribbean countries have previously defended their CBI programmes as legitimate economic tools, citing strong due diligence measures. All four nations have stated they have not received official communication from Washington regarding the proposed travel ban.
• Bruce explained that the US government evaluates countries based on security capabilities, information sharing, identity management practices, visa system abuses such as high overstay rates, and failure to repatriate removable nationals. Furthermore, the memo gives affected governments 60 days to meet new benchmarks.
• In addition to the Caribbean countries, the list includes 25 African nations, along with several from Central Asia and the Pacific.

(Source: Caribbean National Weekly)