WASHINGTON: US homeland security chief Kristi Noem has urged an expansion of the list of countries covered by a travel ban, saying they were flooding the United States with “killers” and “leeches.”
Noem’s post on X comes amid media reports that President Donald Trump is considering expanding the number of nations subject to US travel restrictions to 30 from the current 19.
“I am recommending a full travel ban on every damn country that’s been flooding our nation with killers, leeches, and entitlement junkies,” Noem said late Monday.
“Our forefathers built this nation on blood, sweat, and the unyielding love of freedom – not for foreign invaders to slaughter our heroes, suck dry our hard-earned tax dollars, or snatch the benefits owed to AMERICANS,” she said.
Trump – who forwarded Noem’s message on his Truth Social platform – wrote after the Nov 26 shooting of two National Guard members in Washington that he planned to “permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries to allow the US system to fully recover.”
A 29-year-old Afghan national has been charged with first degree murder in connection with the attack, which left one soldier dead and took place near the White House.
Nineteen countries have been subject to US travel restrictions since June.
They are Afghanistan, Burundi, Chad, Republic of Congo, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Myanmar, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Togo, Turkmenistan, Venezuela and Yemen.
Trump campaigned for the White House on a pledge to deport millions of undocumented migrants and has launched a sweeping immigration crackdown since taking office.
