Georgia Africa Legislative Caucus says proposed travel ban will hurt the U.S.

Caption

State Rep. El-Mahdi Holly speaks at a news conference the state capitol on the proposed travel ban.

Credit: Sarah Kallis/GPB News

On Wednesday in Atlanta, members of the Georgia Africa Legislative Caucus gathered at the state capitol to ask Secretary of State Marco Rubio to reconsider a potential travel ban for some African countries. 

In June, President Donald Trump’s administration placed a travel ban on 12 countries, including African nations Libya, Chad, Sudan, Eritrea, Equatorial Guinea, Somalia and the Republic of Congo, with visa restrictions for Burundi, Sierra Leone and Togo.

A proposed new travel ban from the administration would include 36 countries, mostly in Africa, citing travel screening concerns.

That list includes Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Egypt, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Malawi, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, South Sudan,  Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Supporters of the bans say they are about safety, with a June 4 memo from Trump stating the countries have "taken advantage of the United States in their exploitation of our visa system."

According to the Associated Press, the countries must take action to address the U.S. concerns within 60 days.

Lawmakers in the Georgia caucus said Trump’s proposed travel ban to several African nations and parts of the Caribbean would negatively impact the U.S.

State Rep. El-Mahdi Holly said the caucus has sent a letter to Rubio.

“We need to encourage those in our communities that we will stand strong against the president's implementation of this ban," he said.