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The new ban on travel to the US by citizens of 12 countries came into effect relatively mildly on Monday as President Donald Trump reported special scrutiny at American airports before some travelers with valid visas were allowed to enter.
The ban, which targets mainly African and Middle Eastern countries, kicked amid growing tensions over the president’s escalating immigration enforcement campaign. However, during Trump’s first travel ban in 2017, there were no immediate signs of disruption unfolding at US airports.
Vincenta Aguilar said she was uneasy Monday as she and her husband, Guatemalan citizens, arrived at Miami International Airport and were exposed to three different interviews by US officials after they showed the tourist visa they received by the couple who received last week.
“They asked where we work, how many children we have, how much time we can afford to pay for this trip if there was a problem with the law,” said Aguilar, who had been visiting his son for the first time since leaving Guatemala 22 years ago with her husband.
She said they were released about an hour after their flight had landed and greeted their waiting family in Florida with tears of relief. Guatemala has not been flagged due to countries included in the new ban or due to additional travel restrictions.
President Donald Trump signed a travel ban late Wednesday, banning citizens from 12 countries from travelling to the United States. Seven additional countries have received partial bans.
Trump’s new ban should not revoke previously issued visas
The new declaration that Trump signed last week applies to Afghan citizens in Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. It also places high restrictions on people in Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela who do not hold valid visas outside the US.
According to guidance issued on Friday to all US diplomatic missions, the new ban will not revoke previously issued visas to people in the country on the list. However, applications will be denied from Monday unless the applicant meets the narrow criteria for the ban exemption. Travelers with previously issued visas should still be able to enter the United States even after the ban has come into effect.
Narayana Ramie, a Haitian citizen working for her country’s government, said she was told to wait after showing her passport and tourist visa at Miami Airport on Monday, after confirming that US officials were allowed to visit their families by phone.
Cuban resident and green card holder Louis Hernandez, who lived in the US for three years, said he has no problem returning to Miami on Monday after visiting his family in Cuba over the weekend.
“They asked me nothing,” Hernandez said. “I only showed you a residency card.”
President Donald Trump spoke about the protests in Los Angeles and the deployment of the National Guard.
The ban appears to avoid chaos following Trump’s first attempt
During Trump’s first term, the hastily written executive orders denying entry to citizens of primarily Muslim countries has caused chaos at many airports and other ports of entry, successfully completing legal agendas and massive revisions of the policy.
Many immigration experts say the new ban is being created more carefully and appears to be designed to beat court challenges that hamper the initial challenge by focusing on the visa application process.
Trump now said that some countries have either “sufficient” screenings for passports and other public documents or have historically refused to regain their citizens. He relied widely on the annual Homeland Security Report of those who remained in the United States after their visa expired.
Trump also said he has concluded a new ban on terrorist attacks in Boulder, Colorado, highlighting the dangers posed by visitors overstaying visas. US officials say the man charged with the attack has overstayed tourist visas. He is from Egypt and is not on Trump’s restricted list.
Critics say it’s a division of the travel ban section.
The ban was quickly condemned by groups that helped refugees to help and resettle the country.
“This policy is not about national security, it is about sectors and slander that seek security and opportunity in the United States.
In a statement, Haiti’s transitional presidential council said the ban “is likely to indiscriminately affect all Haitians,” and hopes to persuade the US to drop Haiti from its list of banned countries.
In Venezuela, some visa holders changed their US travel plans last week to preempt Trump restrictions. For those without a visa, the new restrictions may not be as important. Since Venezuela and the United States cut diplomatic relations in 2019, Venezuelans have had to travel to nearby South American countries to obtain US visas.
Jose Luis Vegas, a tech worker in Venezuela’s capital, Caracas, said his uncle gave up on renewing his expired US visa because it was already difficult before restrictions.
“Paying for the hotel and tickets was very expensive and the schedule took up to a year,” Vegas said.
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AP journalist Dánica Coto from San Juan, Puerto Rico and Evens Sanon from Port-au-Prince in Haiti contributed to this story.
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