N’DJAMENA, Chad (AP) — Chad’s President Mahamat Idriss Deby on Thursday announced that his country will suspend the issuance of visas to U.S. citizens in response to the Trump administration’s decision to ban Chadians from visiting the U.S.
President Donald Trump on Wednesday resurrected a hallmark policy of his first term when he announced the visa ban on 12 countries including Chad, accusing them of having “deficient” screening and vetting, and historically refusing to take back their own citizens who overstay in the United States.
The new ban targets Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
There will also be heightened restrictions on visitors from seven others in the new travel policy which takes effect Monday at 12:01 a.m.
In a Facebook post, Chad’s president said he is directing his government to suspend visas to U.S. citizens “in accordance with the principles of reciprocity.”
“Chad has no planes to offer, no billions of dollars to give but Chad has his dignity and pride,” Deby said, referring to the $400 million luxury plane offered to his administration as a gift by the ruling family of Qatar.
Republic of Congo calls ban a mistake
The new travel policy has triggered varied reactions from Africa, whose countries make up seven of the 12 countries affected by Trump’s outright visa ban with some exemptions.
In the Republic of Congo, government spokesperson Thierry Moungalla said he believes the country was among those affected because of a “misunderstanding” over an armed attack in the U.S. with the perpetrators “mistaken” to be from the Republic of Congo.
“Obviously, Congo is not a terrorist country, is not home to any terrorist, is not known to have a terrorist vocation. So we think that this is a misunderstanding and I believe that in the coming hours, the competent diplomatic services of the government will contact the American authorities here,” he said in the capital of Brazzaville.
In Sierra Leone, among countries with heightened travel restrictions, Information Minister Chernor Bah said the country is committed to addressing the concerns that prompted the ban.
“We will work with U.S. authorities to ensure progress,” he added.
