Trump travel ban: Pakistan possibly on Orange list

While earlier reports stated that Pakistan could be placed on the third tier, or the yellow list, of the travel ban, a more recent article from the New York Times suggests that Pakistan may be on the orange list.

Unlike the yellow list, which would provide named countries 60 days to clear up any deficiencies the US perceives, those on the orange list will have their travel restricted for people on immigrant or tourist visas.

The New York Times names Pakistan as one of the ten countries on the orange list, alongside Belarus, Eritrea, Haiti, Laos, Myanmar, Pakistan, Russia, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, and Turkmenistan. Citizens of these countries will be required to undergo in-person interviews to receive visas.

The 22 countries on the yellow list include: Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Chad, the Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Dominica, Equatorial Guinea, Gambia, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, São Tomé and Príncipe, Vanuatu and Zimbabwe.

Also read: New Trump travel ban: legalising discrimination all over again

The red list includes 11 countries that will have all travel banned: Afghanistan, Bhutan, Cuba, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Venezuela and Yemen.

Trump’s upcoming ban makes good on campaign promises he made in October 2023, and harkens back to the first ban, and its subsequent iterations, that he imposed in 2017. Those restrictions resulted in refugees being stranded, families being separated, and students being restricted from continuing or pursuing an education.

With the blanket ban given in the red category, as well as the additional countries in the yellow category, the latest ban will likely result in an even larger number of people being affected. Furthermore, depending on what “deficiencies” the US identifies regarding the countries on the yellow list, and those countries’ ability to address them, there may be more additions to the orange list.  

Also read: What could a new Trump travel ban mean for students?