Trump’s Immigration Policies Continue to Split Families Apart

Trump’s Immigration Policies Continue to Split Families Apart

In this article

Donald Trump has been busy making lots of changes to the US immigration policies and travel rules and recently added six countries to his controversial travel ban. Whilst most of Trump’s actions have received a great deal of criticism across the world, not many people were expecting Nigeria to be added to the travel ban. The other five countries are Myanmar, Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Sudan and Tanzania. This brings the total number of restricted countries to 13.

His decision to add Nigeria to the list has caused upset for many Nigerian citizens, with families being kept apart now that family members are unable to join their relatives in the US.

US military veteran impacted by travel ban

A recent interview in The Guardian outlined the impact that the new ruling has had on one family. Olumide is a US military veteran who served in Afghanistan who was looking forward to his wife and daughter joining him as their visa applications were close to being fully processed. However, the decision to make the immigration process near impossible for Nigerians means that Olumide’s family will be unable to live with him in the US. One of his poignant messages is “As a soldier, I understand the need to protect the country. But to completely shut the doors ... it’s just plain wrong.”

Olumide is just one of the many families that have been impacted by the changes and it seems inconceivable that he has served for the US military and then be affected in this way. It is also somewhat surprising that Africa’s most populated and highest economy country, Nigeria would be affected in this way.

Trump targets countries where there is Muslim majority

The latest addition of six countries to the travel ban has impacted citizens that could potentially be fleeing violence in their country, which is a big difference to the US asylum system that was once more welcoming to those looking for a safer life.

The Myanmar government have been persecuting Muslim Rohingya people, with over 10,000 deaths in one of the world’s worst cases of ongoing genocide. These people are now unable to seek asylum in the US, due to Trump’s latest ruling.

Trump has focused on countries that are mostly Muslim, making it more difficult to citizens from Africa and Asia to move to the US, or even to visit the US. Recently, there were increases on visa application fees and the criteria for US travel has been made stricter throughout Trump’s time in the White House.

The US supreme court has stepped in on several occasions to contest some of Trump’s rulings but have only seen successes in some areas. The only real hope for the families that are affected by the tough immigration stance is for a new president to get elected. It is thought that a new president is likely to be less strict on immigration and that the possibility of completely removing the travel ban is a likelihood.

Written by Abisola Fikayomi

Abisola is an accomplished writer interested in US Travel, immigration, passports and visas. She’s passionate about exploring new places and cultures and willing to share her experiences, expertize and findings with others. That is her primary drive for specialising in this industry.

arrow
clock

Social Media Accounts Now Requested for Visa Applications

Social media usage is higher than ever and its introduction has changed processes from companies’ marketing campaigns, to following the lifestyles of your avourite celebrity. Given how prominent it is now, it is no surprise that it is being used.

Read More...
clock

Study Reveals H-1B Visa Changes Could Benefit US Economy

Historically, the US has benefitted from attracting some of the highest calibre calibre of skilled workers from around the world.

Read More...
clock

The Latest Immigration News: Justice Department Takes New Steps to Denaturalize Immigrants

The latest in a long list of immigration changes have been rolled out this week, as a new office has been set up with a focus on denaturalization of serious criminals.

Read More...
clock

Coronavirus: Is It Safe To Travel From The UK To The USA?

The news channels have been dominated with updates on the fast-spreading coronavirus and the Government has been quick to react to the outbreak in the UK with an emergency Cobra meeting. Huge sports events have been cancelled, whilst schools affected by the virus have been closed as a precaution and closing more schools...

Read More...
clock

The Huge Impact of the New US Visa Rules in Immigrant Communities

As Trump’s latest travel ban has been brought into effect, immigration communities are growing increasingly concerned about the impact it will have on being reunited with their families.

Read More...
clock

US to step up ban on ‘Birth tourism’

Since the outbreak of the coronavirus was first reported in China on 31 December, it has claimed the lives of at least 300 people, with over 14,000 people thought to be infected around the world.

Read More...
clock

Trump’s Latest Attacks on Sanctuary Cities

It is no secret that Donald Trump has been keen to make it harder for non-US citizens to move to the US, with particular countries targeted for the travel ban.

Read More...
clock

US to step up ban on ‘Birth tourism’

Donald Trump has been busy making lots of changes to the US immigration system over the last few years, in his quest to protect the US with a stricter approach to allowing foreign citizens to enter the US.

Read More...
clock

Travelers from UK Require Proof of Negative COVID-19 Test to Enter US

Following the discovery that a new variant of the coronavirus in the UK, with what seems to have a higher transmission rate, the US CDC authorities have made the decision to request proof that air passengers from the UK have had a negative COVID-19 test result pre-departure. The test requirement was introduced on 27 December and must be completed in the three days before the flight to the US.

Read More...
clock

June Visa Bulletin Includes Updates on `Other Workers,` China, Diversity Visa Availability

In the United States, every fiscal year, which begins on October 1 and ends on September 30, under United States immigration law, up to 140,000 employment-based immigrant visas are made readily available to qualified candidates.

Read More...
clock

72 Hour ESTA Rule Catches Out Travelers to the US

The ESTA system that is available to citizens of the Visa Waiver Program can usually be processed very quickly but there are times when this is not possible. Earlier this year, the US government updated their guidance to state that people traveling to the US should apply at least 72 hours before the departure time.

Read More...
clock

The US Expect a High Amount of Indian Student Visas Applications

On the 10th of June, 2021, the US Mission to India revealed that it would open its July and August students visa appointment at various posts across India.

Read More...
clock

United States ESTA fee Soars by 50%

The United States Customs and Border Protection has declared an addition to the cost of traveling to the United States under the ESTA Visa Waiver scheme.

Read More...
clock

Cypriot Citizens Could Soon Benefit from Joining US Visa Waiver Program

The criteria for countries being eligible to join the Visa Waiver Program is regularly reviewed and we have seen with the recent addition of Poland into the VWP and the US government is continually working with other countries to help get to a position where they can join.

Read More...
clock

Good News for Croatian Citizens Visiting the US

When visiting the US, foreign nationals are required to have either a visa, or an ESTA (if they are eligible). The US operates with a strict security process of screening people who are entering the US and the countries that are in the Visa Waiver Program have to pass a set of criteria before they can become members

Read More...
clock

Russia is planning to deny all visas for the US media

Following the Russia-Ukraine ongoing war, Western countries against the war have withdrawn from active or passive participation in the war after numerous attempts to stop Russia from going ahead with the attacks.

Read More...
clock

Court Blocks Trump’s Attempt to Deny US Immigrant Visas

Donald Trump has introduced a number of changes to the US immigration process since coming into his role as President and the latest change he tried to introduce was to deny visas for immigrants that are unable to afford health care.

Read More...
clock

How Coronavirus Could Affect the Travel and Tourism Industry?

Cince the Coronavirus first emerged, the travel and tourism industry has been rocked, with hotel lockdowns, travel bans and airlines cancelling flights as different countries have stepped up their measures to try and prevent the spread of the disease.

Read More...
clock

USA could ease international travel restrictions by May

Due to the so-far impressive success of the vaccination program in the US and in several other countries around the world, the US could lift some international travel restrictions as early as May

Read More...
clock

US Announces Extension to Canada and Mexico Travel Restrictions

Following the initial travel restrictions announced between the United States and Canadian and Mexican borders, the US officials have just announced that they will extend the restrictions by a further 30 days due to the Coronavirus pandemic that has been so devastating in the US.

Read More...
clock

What are the Plans for US to Relax Travel Restrictions?

The US President Joe Biden is planning to ease some of the travel restrictions for entering US from early November.

Read More...
clock

ESTA for US Travel Set for 50% Price Increase

Donald Trump has introduced a number of changes to the There have been lots of changes to policies involving travel to the US over the last few years, with Donald Trump driving changes to immigration policies and now the ESTA fee looks set to increase too.

Read More...
clock

US Has Made More Visa Applicants Eligible for Interview Waivers

With long waiting times for visa application processing, the US has been reviewing changes that can be introduced to reduce the length of the waiting times.

Read More...
clock

US Border Restrictions Extended Indefinitely

Since the COVID-19 pandemic first appeared in the US, there has been a great amount of disruption and uncertainty, as the Government seeks to balance the US economy’s best interests whilst also trying to prevent the wider spread of the virus.

Read More...
clock

Poland Nominated for Visa Waiver Program

There is good news for Polish citizens who want to enjoy an easier process for visiting the US. Currently, any Polish citizen looking to visit the United States must apply for a visa to grant entry permission...

Read More...
clock

US Travel Ban for Europe Excluding UK

With the number of coronavirus cases and deaths rising each day in the US, Donald Trump has just announced that all travel from Europe is now banned for 30 days, with the exception of UK and Ireland.

Read More...
clock

Trump outlines plans to expand travel ban to 7 more countries

US President Donald Trump has announced that he will add seven more countries to his UStravel ban during an interview this week with the Wall Street Journal. Trump first introduced the controversial ban in 2017, which banned Iran, Iraq, Somalia, Libya, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

Read More...
clock

Trump Bans UK and Ireland Travellers, Whilst UK Government Advises Against Travel to US

Over the last week, there have been some significant changes to how countries are approaching their efforts to fight the coronavirus pandemic. The US last week announced that travellers from many countries in the EU had been banned, including Italy, France and Spain.

Read More...
clock

US to allow Europeans to travel

From November, vaccinated people from the EU will be able to enter the US, with the US administration recently announcing that travellers from 33 countries will be able to travel to the US.

Read More...
clock

Businesses to Pay the Price for Immigration Fee Hikes in the US

Donald Trump promised to introduce stricter immigration policies and he certainly has prioritised this so far in his tenure. His latest proposed rule, His latest proposed rule, as announced by the Department of Homeland Security...

Read More...
clock

Trump Announces Immigration Suspension

Donald Trump has just announced that he plans to suspend immigration to the US as part of the country’s approach to tackling the COVID-19 pandemic.

Read More...
arrow