President Donald Trump is reportedly considering sweeping new travel restrictions that would completely block Iranians from entering the United States.
An internal memo obtained by Reuters reveals Trump’s administration is eyeing the most severe restrictions for ten countries, with Iran prominently featured alongside Afghanistan, Syria, Cuba, and North Korea. For Iranian Christians among the deportees, the situation is particularly dire. Under Iranian law, converting from Islam can bring death sentences, leaving many trapped between hostile environments abroad and persecution at home.
Altogether, the proposed travel ban divides 41 countries into three distinct categories of restrictions. All ten countries in the first group would face complete visa suspensions while the second tier including Eritrea, Haiti, Laos, Myanmar and South Sudan would see partial suspensions affecting tourist and student visas along with other immigrant visas, with limited exceptions.
The third category encompasses 26 nations including Belarus, Pakistan and Turkmenistan. These countries would face partial visa suspensions if their governments “do not make efforts to address deficiencies within 60 days.”
Trump’s proposals mirror his first-term immigration crackdown, which included a travel ban primarily targeting Muslim-majority nations. That policy weathered multiple legal challenges before ultimately being upheld by the Supreme Court in 2018.
Meanwhile, immigration officials have been cracking down on terror supporters on campus. Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil, who infamously led hostile pro-Hamas rallies, now faces deportation along with fellow agitator Leqaa Kordia, who overstayed a terminated visa. In another case, Ranjani Srinivasan, an Indian doctoral student at Columbia, left voluntarily after officials found her supporting Hamas propaganda on campus.
On Friday, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem defended her boss’s deportations by calling it a “privilege” to pursue opportunities in America.
“When you advocate for violence and terrorism that privilege should be revoked, and you should not be in this country,” she said. “It’s a privilege to be granted a visa to live and study in the United States of America.”
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