By: Staff Writer
July 21, 2026
A US Congresswoman wants to ban individuals from predominantly black countries including five from Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC).
South Carilona Congresswoman Nancy Macy has proposed on the House floor a list of countries she is proposing be banned from the United States.
The countries whose nationals would be barred include five in the Western Hemisphere —Antigua and Barbuda, Cuba, Dominica, Haiti and Venezuela —along with Afghanistan, Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burma, Burundi, Chad, Cote d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Gabon, Gambia, Iran, Laos, Libya, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Republic of the Congo, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Togo, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Yemen, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Individuals with travel documents issued by the Palestinian Authority would also be prohibited from entering the U.S.
Mace introduced her bill on Wednesday. It doesn’t yet appear to have a companion in the Senate and likely faces an uphill battle in Congress, where there is strong support for some of the countries she has targeted. She has named the legislation the “Third World Immigration Moratorium Act,” and lists 39 countries whose nationals would be permanently banned from entering the United States.
The Antiguan government is actively pushing back against the inclusion. Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador to the U.S., Sir Ronald Sanders, sent a formal letter to Congresswoman Mace demanding the country be removed from the list. Ambassador Sanders cited the nation’s close security and economic cooperation, low visa overstay rates, and its history of cooperating with U.S. immigration authorities.
The position of the United States Government has been stated plainly by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio:
“In support of this critical objective, the Department of State is announcing a significant expansion of an existing visa restriction policy that targets those working on behalf of U.S. adversaries to undermine our national interests in our hemisphere, including regional security and democratic sovereignty.”
He has also made clear the principle that governs all such decisions:
“Getting a U.S. visa is not a right; it is a privilege which we alone decide.”
Antigua and Barbuda has been at the forefront of discussions with the United States to secure improved arrangements. Indeed, as recently as two days ago, Prime Minister Gaston Browne discussed this matter directly with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau.
That is how responsible governments act. They engage, they represent, and they persist. They do not mislead the public with promises they have no power to fulfil.