Trump is prepared to follow ICE Barbie's recommendation regarding his travel ban

President Donald Trump is reportedly prepared to act on Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noems proposal to use the recent shooting of two National Guard members as justification for broadening his administrations travel restrictions. Sources within the U.S. government informed CBS News on Tuesday that the travel ban could be extended to approximately 30 countries, up from the current 19. The Department of Homeland Security also indicated that a list of new countries under the ban would be announced "soon."

This development follows an incident where an Afghan refugee allegedly shot two guardsmen near the White House, prompting the administration to temporarily halt asylum decisions across all nationalities and conduct a comprehensive review of green card applications from immigrants in the 19 countries already affected by the travel ban.

Critics argue that punishing all citizens of a nation for the actions of a single individual lacks justification, particularly since Afghanistan is already included in the existing restrictions. Expanding the list of banned countries appears to align with the administrations broader effort to limit immigration.

Noem appears to have influenced this latest initiative. On X, she called for a "full travel ban on every country that has been sending killers, freeloaders, and entitlement seekers" to the United States, emphasizing the nations founding principles and stating, "We dont want them. Not one."

The official DHS account echoed her sentiment, reinforcing the push for broader restrictions. In parallel, the administration has suspended all visa and immigration processing for Afghan nationals.

The alleged shooter, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, previously served in a CIA-linked paramilitary unit in Afghanistan and received U.S. asylum and work authorization earlier this year, highlighting that he was initially allowed entry despite the current crackdown.

Under Trumps existing travel ban, entry is fully blocked from Afghanistan, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Myanmar, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen, while partial restrictions apply to Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.

Author: Ethan Caldwell