The United States has imposed new travel restrictions on Dominica and Antigua and Barbuda, escalating Washington’s campaign against citizenship-by-investment programs that it views as security liabilities. Announced by President Donald Trump on December 16, the move places the two Caribbean nations on an expanding US travel ban list that now covers 39 countries and signals a deeper shift in how Washington intends to police the global trade in passports.

Beginning in January, holders of Dominican and Antiguan passports will face restricted entry into the United States. A White House proclamation cited what it described as long-standing vulnerabilities in the two countries’ citizenship-by-investment programs-often called “golden passport” schemes-including the absence of meaningful residency requirements and persistent weaknesses in applicant vetting.

At face value, the decision targets two small island states. In practice, it establishes a precedent that could reshape how the United States treats any country that commodifies citizenship without meeting Washington’s evolving security expectations.

Citizenship-by-investment programs allow wealthy foreign nationals to acquire passports in exchange for large financial contributions, typically through government funds or approved real estate investments. For small Caribbean economies with limited natural resources, these programs have become financial lifelines, funding post-hurricane reconstruction, infrastructure projects, and social spending.

Yet US officials argue that these programs undermine the integrity of global travel systems. In its proclamation, the White House warned that citizenship-for-sale schemes create “challenges for screening and vetting” and introduce risks for law enforcement, sanctions enforcement, and intelligence operations.

According to US authorities, the problem is not........

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