Countries in the “orange” category would face restrictions on immigrant, tourist, and student visas. This group includes Belarus, Eritrea, Haiti, Laos, Myanmar, Pakistan, Russia, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, and Turkmenistan.

Zimbabwe falls into the “yellow” category, meaning it has 60 days to address US concerns or risk moving to a more restrictive group.

These countries, which face heavy restrictions or indefinite bans, include Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Burkina Faso, Vanuatu, Gambia, the Dominican Republic, and several others.

The list, compiled by the US State Department, still requires approval. The White House has not commented publicly on the memo.

This proposal follows an executive order signed by Trump in January 2021 to protect the US from foreign threats, including terrorism and exploitation of immigration laws.

In January 2017, one week into his presidency, Trump signed the executive order titled “Protecting the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into the United States.”

The order banned Syrian refugees and temporarily suspended entry for individuals from Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.

The US Supreme Court later upheld a revised version of the ban, which continued to restrict entry for citizens from Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela, and Yemen. The Court confirmed the ban in 2018.

When President Joe Biden took office in 2021, he repealed the ban, calling it inconsistent with America’s tradition of welcoming people from all backgrounds.

More: ZimLive