White House released a statement on Tuesday stating that the Chad nationals will once again be able to apply for and receive visas to visit the United States as the travel ban has officially been lighted from this African country.
“By lifting travel restrictions on nationals of Chad, the United States is demonstrating that the criteria set forth in Proclamation 9645 can and do work to enhance the security of the United States,” said Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who is the White House Press Secretary.
Sanders also said that President Trump has signed a proclamation which states that Chad has successfully “improved its identity-management and information sharing practices”, thus leading to their removal off the travel ban list.
“The President announced today that Chad has raised its security standards to meet important baseline U.S. national security requirements,” announced the Department of Homeland Security. “Therefore, its nationals will again be able to receive visas for travel to the United States.”
The travel ban had been imposed on Chad back in September when a glitch prevented them from supplying the Department of Homeland Security with relevant samples of their passports. Officials had also claimed that Chad did not properly share information with them, relating to terrorism and public safety, which is used to help the U.S. government to successfully screen foreigners before entry.
This ban had come as a shock to many security officials who understood the active role Chad played in counterterrorism. It had been a reliable partner to the U.S., in helping them in the fight against Al-Qaida, in West Africa.
In response to the arguments, the administration had said that the shortcomings that were found in Chad’s information sharing and other protocols, could pose a threat to the national security of the country. Others countries on the travel ban list include Iran, North Korea and Venezuela, which didn’t sit well with the Chad officials and led them to criticize the travel ban put by the U.S. on their nationals.
The travel ban on Chad will finally be terminated on Friday, said the spokeswoman of the State Department, Heather Nauert, who added that Chad has “improved practices” and this move will “demonstrate a clear off-ramp for countries placed on the travel restriction list. These improvements will improve security for the people of Chad and the United States.”
The strengthening of Chad’s security practices and protocols is proof that the strictness of the travel restrictions placed on different countries by the U.S. has worked as a form of encouragement for them.
The news of lifting of these travel restrictions placed on the Chad nationals was welcomed by the foreign minister of Chad, Cherif Mahamat Zene.
“Chad is pleased to be removed from the list of countries whose nationals are banned from entering the United States, and hopes to further strengthen the strategic partnership and cooperation between the two countries,” Zene tweeted.
Also, it is rumoured that the Pentagon and the State Department are behind the removal of Chad from the travel ban list, as it could have affected the partnership between the two countries in countering terrorism.
