Trump expands travel restrictions

New indefinite bans on DPRK, Venezuela and Chad will take effect in October

WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump on Sunday expanded a travel ban to include visitors from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in East Asia, Venezuela in Latin America and Chad in central Africa.

Meanwhile, he kept the controversial travel ban which was set to expire on Sunday on five of six Muslim-majority countries, namely Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen, and lifted restrictions on Sudan.

The new travel restrictions are expected to take effect on Oct 18 and will be indefinite, according to a president's proclamation, which the White House said has the same force as an executive order.

Such a grace period may prevent the mass confusion and chaos seen across US airports in late January, when the initial travel ban took effect immediately after Trump's announcement.

Unlike the previous versions of travel ban, which sparked nationwide protests and lawsuits, the new standards are based on factors such as whether countries issue electronic passports with embedded traveler information or share information about travelers' terror-related and criminal histories, the administration said.

The United States then shared those benchmarks with every country in the world and gave them 50 days to comply.

Moreover, with the DPRK and Venezuela included, the new travel restrictions will no longer be seen as a "Muslim ban", analysts said.

However, these limits will have little practical impact on the two countries as few DPRK visitors travel to the US and the new restrictions on Venezuela apply only to government officials, not to the broader population, according to local experts.

"As president, I must act to protect the security and interests of the United States and its people," Trump said.

"Making America Safe is my number one priority. We will not admit those into our country we cannot safely vet," Trump tweeted on Sunday.

Trump said in the proclamation that Iraq also did not meet requirements for identity-management protocols and other risk-mitigating factors, but entry restrictions were not warranted given Iraq's relations with the US and its efforts to combat terrorists.

Trump issued his first travel ban order one week after taking office on Jan 20, barring US entry to citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries including Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen with immediate effect.

Facing nationwide protests and an array of lawsuits, he introduced a revised order on March 6, dropping Iraq from the list of targeted countries while excluding existing visa and green card holders from the impact of the suspension.

The revised order was also challenged by several federal judges and set for an argument at the Supreme Court on Oct 10.

Days ago, Trump called for a "tougher" travel ban after a bomb partially exploded on a London subway.

Xinhua