Trump’s travel ban shuts another door to refugees in the Americas
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- Individuals from Cuba, Haiti and Venezuela seeking to flee crises at home have few options left to enter the United States.
- The full travel ban applies to Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
WASHINGTON — President Trump’s travel ban announced this week marks yet another blow to foreign nationals in America’s backyard facing the worst humanitarian crises in the Western Hemisphere, after the White House moved to revoke remaining legal pathways to entry for Cubans, Venezuelans and Haitians in recent months.
The new policy places an outright travel ban on individuals from Haiti, where much of the country is controlled by drug lords and violent gangs, and severely limits travel from Cuba and Venezuela, among other nations.
Marco Rubio, formerly a U.S. senator from Florida now serving as Trump’s national security advisor and secretary of State, long supported the extension of temporary protected status to nationals from the three beleaguered nations, warning it would be inhumane to force those already in the United States back home given the conditions on the ground. Cubans face repression and crackdowns on dissent under a communist regime, and Venezuela’s leader, Nicolás Maduro, has driven his once-prosperous nation into a protracted economic and political crisis.
But TPS protections have also been revoked by the Trump administration for those nationals, forcing the return or removal of those who previously thought they were safe.
Their appeal came hours after Trump announced a U.S. entry ban on citizens from 12 countries, including Afghanistan.
Trump’s team has also targeted individuals from the three nations by eliminating a parole program initiated by President Biden called CHNV, which allowed Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans to apply for legal status from their home countries online without traveling to the border. Those individuals had to show proof of financial support before being granted entry. The Supreme Court issued an order last week allowing the administration to proceed with the dismantling of the program.
Hans Van de Weerd, senior vice president of the International Rescue Committee, said the latest travel ban policy could result in the separation of families. Those with existing visas will be allowed to use them, but family members still in the process of applying for visas will no longer have access.
“Global displacement is soaring and the countries affected by the travel ban — like Afghanistan, Venezuela, and Haiti — are experiencing some of the worst humanitarian emergencies in the world,” Van de Weerd said in a statement. “The administration’s action to ban certain nationalities from the United States is discriminatory and harmful. This proclamation bans people from some of the most fragile and conflict-affected countries in the world.”
In total, 12 countries are affected by the travel ban, and seven nations face new, strict restrictions.
“Once again, we see President Trump’s irrational impulses as he tries to institute a discriminatory travel ban,” said Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla of California. “This senseless, prejudicial policy is an abuse of power that also threatens U.S. citizen relatives from the targeted countries. We cannot allow this Administration to continue scapegoating individuals based on religion or nationality. Our country is better than this.”
Trump explained the policy as a response to “hostile attitudes” toward the United States from the targeted nationals.
A federal appeals court Monday partially revived President Trump’s travel ban on six Muslim-majority countries, allowing it to go into effect against people without a “bona fide” connection in the U.S., such as close family members.
“I must act to protect the national security and national interest of the United States and its people,” Trump said.
It is the resurrection of a travel ban that Trump implemented in his first term, targeting countries around the world, including Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
That initial effort was one of the most chaotic and confusing moments of his young presidency. Travelers from those nations were either barred from getting on their flights to the United States, or detained at U.S. airports after they landed. They included students and faculty as well as businesspeople, tourists, and people visiting friends and family.
The order, often referred to as the “Muslim ban” or the “travel ban,” was retooled amid legal challenges, until a version was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2018.
The ban affected various categories of travelers and immigrants from Iran, Somalia, Yemen, Syria and Libya, plus North Koreans and some Venezuelan government officials and their families.
Trump and others have defended the initial ban on national security grounds, arguing it was aimed at protecting the country and not founded on anti-Muslim bias. However, the president had called for an explicit ban on Muslims during his first campaign for the White House.
This article includes reporting from the Associated Press.
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