Trump’s Expanded Travel Ban Sparks Outrage, but Could It Push Africa Toward Self-Reliance?

 On June 16, 2025, The New York Times reported that President Donald Trump is contemplating a dramatic expansion of his travel ban, potentially adding 36 countries—many in Africa, including Zimbabwe—to the restricted list. This follows a proclamation on June 4, 2025, barring citizens from 12 nations, seven of which are African: Chad, Congo Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Libya, Somalia, and Sudan. Partial restrictions were also imposed on Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela, blocking permanent relocation, tourist, or student visas.

As Trump intensifies his immigration crackdown, the ripple effects are profound, especially for Africans like me who face the growing prospect of being barred from the United States—a nation where many of my loved ones have built successful lives.

A Personal Perspective on the Ban

For the first time, I confront the possibility of being unable to visit the U.S., where my cousin, Dr. Anna Mhaka, practices medicine, and my former classmate, Spencer Matare, a U.S. citizen, has lived in Indianapolis for over 20 years. Both are shining examples of the contributions African immigrants make to American society—industrious, law-abiding, and integral to their communities. Yet, Trump’s policies paint migrants with a broad, vilifying brush, ignoring their value.

While many Africans dream of following in their footsteps, I am not among them. Despite growing up in a post-colonial Zimbabwe where the West was romanticized, I’ve never felt the pull to visit or settle in America. My perspective is shaped by a sobering reality: the U.S. is not the utopia it’s often portrayed to be.

The African Exodus and the American Dream

A December 2024 Afrobarometer report revealed that 49% of people across 24 African countries have considered emigrating, with North America and Europe as top destinations. Nearly half cited better job opportunities, while 29% pointed to poverty and economic hardship. Stories like that of NBA legend Dikembe Mutombo, who built a $29 million hospital in Kinshasa with his own wealth, highlight both the potential of African success abroad and the stark challenges at home—broken healthcare systems, corruption, and unemployment.

According to a 2022 Pew Research Center report, African-born Black immigrants are among the fastest-growing immigrant groups in the U.S., with their numbers soaring 246% from 600,000 in 2000 to 2 million in 2019. Today, 42% of the U.S.’s foreign-born Black population is of African descent, up from 23% two decades ago. Yet, Trump’s policies—coupled with a 57% U.S. visa refusal rate for sub-Saharan Africans in 2023—threaten to slam the door shut on these aspirations.

A Wake-Up Call for Africa

Trump’s actions, including freezing U.S. aid to Africa on January 20, 2025, and his history of derogatory remarks like the 2018 “shithole countries” comment, have sparked outrage. But they also offer a silver lining: a push toward African self-reliance. By closing off Western opportunities, Trump is inadvertently forcing African nations to address their systemic issues—poverty, healthcare, and governance.

The U.S. is no paradise. With 29 million Americans struggling to access affordable healthcare and 36.8 million living in poverty in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, the “American dream” is elusive for many, including African immigrants. Add to that the pervasive fear of police brutality—vividly illustrated by George Floyd’s murder in 2020—and the U.S. loses its sheen as a refuge.

A Vision for Africa’s Future

Africa, with its vast mineral wealth and youthful, educated population, has untapped potential. China’s rapid economic transformation offers a blueprint: in 40 years, it became a global powerhouse. Africa could follow suit by prioritizing domestic resource processing, fostering industrial growth, and creating jobs. But this requires peace, transparent governance, and a shift in investment from defense to innovation, healthcare, and AI.

As Africans, we must redefine our identity, free from dependence on Western aid or validation. Trump’s policies, however divisive, could be the catalyst for this transformation. I choose to stay in Africa—not out of resignation, but out of belief in its potential.

Conclusion: Keep Your America, We’ll Build Our Africa

Trump’s travel ban may close doors, but it also opens a window for Africa to chart its own course. While the allure of the West persists, the continent’s future lies in harnessing its own resources and talent. I’ll remain in the mother Nadeem, Mr. Trump—and so will Africa’s dreams of self-reliance.