We're Closer to the Great Big Noise: Trump Confirms the Travel Ban List Is About Get a Whole Lot Longer. Take a Look

On January 13th, I wrote the article “The Noise Will Be Loud and Piercing: Trump Reportedly Prepares to Add a Bunch of Countries to the Travel Ban List.”

Well, prepare for the pierce.

President Trump confirmed Tuesday that he’s preparing an update to the travel ban, and I don’t mean a reduction.

As noted by The Daily Caller, the expansion “will likely showcase his immigration enforcement agenda ahead of the 2020 election.”

During an interview with The Wall Street Journal in Davos, Switzerland (where Ivanka dusted Acosta — see here), the President made clear he’ll be revisiting the ban, which previously ended up in the Supreme Court.

The nation’s highest court upheld version 3 of the order, which was stated as a security measure.

Here’s The Donald after the ruling:

“The Supreme Court has upheld the clear authority of the president to defend the national security of the United States. In this era of worldwide terrorism and extremist movements bent on harming innocent civilians, we must properly vet those coming into our country. This ruling is also a moment of profound vindication following months of hysterical commentary from the media and Democratic politicians who refuse to do what it takes to secure our border and our country.”

Democrats, of course, decried it as a ban on Muslims, despite the fact that it included non-Muslim countries (such as North Korea) while excluding Muslim-majority ones.

Also from The Donald’s 2018 comments:

“As long as I am president, I will defend the sovereignty, safety, and security of the American people, and fight for an immigration system that serves the national interests of the United States and its citizens.”

The seven countries currently making the cut:

Syria

Iran

Libya

Yemen

Somalia

North Korea

Venezuela

So what kind of work has the ban been doing?

Here’s more from TDC:

The ban has done an immense job at blocking visitors from areas deemed unsafe. Officials denied nearly 40,000 visa applications in 2018 directly because of the travel ban, the State Department confirmed in 2019 — which earned the chagrin of immigrant rights activists. Should the administration move forward with an expansion, new court challenges would be expected.

An update’s expected this month.

Officials who’ve seen the list, as per WSJ.com, say the following places’ll be joining: