Chad cuts visa access for Americans after Trump travel ban adds African states to US entry list
Chad has moved to stop issuing visas to US nationals in response to President Donald Trump’s new travel ban, escalating a diplomatic backlash that began only hours after Washington named Chad among a dozen countries facing full entry restrictions. The response from N’Djamena was framed as a matter of reciprocity and national dignity, with President Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno saying Chad would not accept a one-sided measure without answering in kind.
The trigger for the dispute was the White House order that bars nationals from Chad, Congo-Brazzaville, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Libya, Somalia and Sudan, along with Afghanistan, Myanmar, Haiti, Iran and Yemen, from entering the United States. The same order also imposes tighter travel limits on nationals of Burundi, Sierra Leone, Togo, Cuba, Laos, Turkmenistan and Venezuela. According to the BBC report, the ban is due to take effect on 9 June, while visas issued before that date will not be revoked.
Chad’s president responded publicly on Facebook, saying the country had “neither planes to offer nor billions of dollars to give” but had “dignity and pride.” That language captures the political tone of the standoff: this is not a narrow consular dispute, but a broader rebuttal to the way the US framed the ban and the security rationale attached to it. Chad’s foreign minister also told AFP that the government was surprised by the announcement and especially by the terrorism-related justification, which he said ignored Chad’s efforts on security.
The White House said the restrictions are intended to protect Americans from “dangerous foreign actors” and that the list could be revised if countries made “material improvements.” It also said additional countries could be added later if threats emerge. The administration tied the measures to concerns over screening capacity, passport control and visa overstays, and cited security problems in some of the countries covered.
The broader reaction across Africa has been immediate because the continent is the worst affected region in the package. For Chad, the measure carries extra weight because the country was singled out for the harshest response, a full visa halt rather than a narrower restriction. The move also revives memories of Trump’s earlier travel ban in his first term, which was revised and ultimately upheld by the US Supreme Court in 2018.
The new order is likely to face legal challenge, just as the earlier version did. But even before any court fight, the diplomatic message has landed. Chad has turned a US immigration decision into a bilateral retaliation, and the next phase of the dispute will hinge on whether Washington treats the move as symbolic protest or as a sign that the fallout may widen beyond visa policy.
