New Delhi: Since US President Donald Trump began his second term, Washington’s daily decisions and statements – ones that may have seemed improbable just months earlier – have come thick and fast. This is why the inclusion of Bhutan in a US media report listing countries whose citizens could face a travel ban – once an unthinkable prospect – is now raising concerns and causing bafflement.
The New York Times reported first on a draft list of around 43 countries, divided in three tiers of restrictions on travel, being circulated inside the Trump administration. The ‘red’ list, with 11 countries whose citizens will face a blanket ban on entering United States, had the predictable names of well-known antagonists of Washington – North Korea, Iran, Cuba and Venezuela. But, nestled among them, as per NYT, was Bhutan.
This has triggered a wave of puzzlement, not just in Thimphu, but also in other capitals, as people have tried to decipher the reason why the Buddhist-majority mountainous kingdom of Bhutan with a population of around 800,000 would be on a US entry blacklist.
While the first reaction of most officials and analysts that were asked was puzzlement, the second was that it had to be a mistake. The subsequent response was that anything was possible these days in Trump’s regime.
The list had been drafted due to an executive order signed by Trump on the first day of office which required the State Department to identify countries “for which vetting and screening information is so deficient as to warrant a partial or full suspension on the admission of nationals from those countries”. As per the order, the list has to be finalised by next week.
The Bhutanese newspaper pointed out that as per the data of the US Department of Homeland Security, only 200 Bhutanese were caught staying illegally between 2013 and 2022, with just 17 caught in 2022. It also found that just 51 Bhutanese were detained on immigration violations in last four years, as per US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
While Bhutan has been facing an exodus of educated youth leaving its shores for better prospects abroad, most have been going to Australia which is home to the largest Bhutanese diaspora.
In 2000, the number of Bhutan-born residents in Australia were just 70. This number became 14,450 in 2022. This rose by 92% within one year to 27,810 in 2023, as per the latest Australian census data.
Bhutanese citizens have expressed their confusion and amusement over the situation. On The Bhutanese newspaper’s Facebook page, users commented on the unexpected inclusion of their country in the travel ban list, with some making light-hearted remarks about the improbability of such a development.
“Trump thought country with name ending with ‘tan’ are all Muslim countries so we are…” said one user.
“So far I visited US twice (2015 & 2018) but didn’t find anything tempting to stay back. so I returned home,” said another.
As Bhutanese around the world grappled with the news on Saturday, an international news agency later reported a seemingly updated draft list. According to Reuters, Bhutan was not on the ‘red’ list. However, it was not entirely in the clear, as Bhutan was now placed in the third tier of ‘yellow’ countries, which must address US concerns within 60 days to avoid partial travel restrictions on their citizens.
