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Just like in his first term, the Trump Administration is preparing another list of countries whose citizens will be barred from traveling to the United States. This travel ban includes countries that are openly hostile to the U.S., such as Iran, Yemen, and Afghanistan.
According to reports, there are currently three different tiers: Red, Orange, and Yellow. Countries in the red tier will have all travel banned, while those in the orange and yellow tiers will face various levels of restriction. The red tier already includes Somalia, Sudan, Syria, North Korea, and many others.
Russia, Haiti, Pakistan, and several other countries are listed under the orange tier, which means they'll face heavy restrictions on visas for their citizens.
National security expert Ed Turzanski says these travel bans are based on real and actionable national security concerns. He said, "What we have is information that speaks to national security threats that are emanating from those countries."
He says that despite the clear need for these travel bans, you can still expect leftists to be outraged by them. He pointed to the travel bans in Trump's first term as an example of this, saying, "The last time, the claim was that this was a Muslim ban. Why? Because it serves their political interests. The same sort of thing will happen this time."
Despite the likely pushback from both activists and activist judges, Turzanski says that it's critically important that this step is taken. He said, "You have to employ every tool that's available. And restricting the entry of individuals suspected of posing a threat is very high on the list of tools that you have."