Trump to replace travel ban with new restrictions on more countries

US President Donald Trump is preparing to ban or restrict visas for travel to the United States from about ten countries as a replacement to the current travel ban that expires over the weekend, officials said.

The new restrictions will vary by country and could range from an all-out ban on travel to the US, or new visa restrictions for citizens of some countries.

"This is a very significant step forward in raising national security standards and protecting the homeland," said Raj Shah, deputy White House spokesman.

Trump is currently reviewing a list of countries the Department of Homeland Security presented to the White House on September 15.

"We need to know who is coming into our country. We should be able to validate their identities, and we should be able to confirm that our foreign partners do not have information suggesting such individuals may represent a threat," said Miles Taylor of the Department of Homeland Security.

The Department of Homeland Security, working with the State Department and other agencies, have recommended that the new restrictions be based on how those countries vet their nationals and share terrorist information with Washington.

The State Department notified every country in the world of the new requirements, saying that countries that were unable or unwilling to meet the standards would face new visa restrictions or bans.

"We need to know who is coming into our country. We should be able to validate their identities, and we should be able to confirm that our foreign partners do not have information suggesting such individuals may represent a threat," said Miles Taylor, a DHS official.

"We had a range of countries, from total willful non-compliance and non-engagement to countries that maybe couldn't meet the requirements but were interested in doing so," Taylor added.

In January, Trump issued a controversial executive order to impose a travel ban on nationals from seven predominantly Muslim countries. Faced with a series of court challenges, the president issued a revised version of the travel ban in March that applied to six countries and included a 90-day review period.

Trump is expected to sign a proclamation on the restrictions either before or on Sunday, when that review period expires.

In the wake of a terror incident in London this month, the US president warned that a "far larger, tougher and more specific" travel ban was needed.

The Trump administration argues that the restrictive measures are necessary to prevent terrorist attacks on US soil, rejecting criticism that they single out people based on their religion.

Critics, however, say the restrictions constitute a religious ban in line with Trump's campaign promise to introduce a “total and complete shutdown” on Muslims.

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