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Topics: US News, Politics, Donald Trump, News, World News
Rhianna Benson
Topics: US News, Politics, Donald Trump, News, World News
Travel experts have issued warnings to tourists hoping to visit the United States this year, amid Donald Trump's unflinching crackdown on immigration.
Since returning to the White House last January, the Republican leader has fronted a hard-line 'America first' philosophy, which saw his administration close borders, expand deportations and reduce immigration pathways like asylum and green cards.
He has also expanded controversial travel bans, blocked or limited entry from hordes of nations he deems to pose security risks, and this week, moved to suspend immigrant visa processing for citizens of 75 countries.
In recent weeks, however, these policies have been stretched to include tourists from certain countries that were once considered 'safe', and those who plan to visit the States for short-term stints at a time.
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Over the last 12 months under Trump, by their own admission, members of the State Department have proudly revoked over 100,000 visa applications, including 8,000 which were filed by students seeking education in the States.
A further 2,500 were also revoked for individuals that had endured even minor run-ins with the law during their stay.
It has since emerged that even those from nations pally with the States - like the UK, Australia and Japan - seeking to holiday there using traditional tourist ESTAs (Electronic System for Travel Authorisation), have had their documentation denied.
For reference, the most common reasons for an ESTA being revoked are in cases where a criminal record hasn't been disclosed by a visitor, or when a tourist has failed to prove non-immigrant intent.
In some cases, holiday-makers claim they weren't informed of the reason why they were being denied entry.
"I've gotten an ESTA this last September with my EU passport in order to travel to the US after some years not having been there," one Reddit user - who claimed she has never spoken publicly about her political views - recently claimed.
"I traveled to New York for three weeks, went back to my home country, then came back in December to visit Miami for a week - both trips for actual tourism and nothing else.
"Today I receive an email from the DHS saying my ESTA status has been 'changed', and when I check he application, it shows I'm no longer authorised to travel to the US."
Another claimed they endured a similar experience when attempting to holiday in Miami, Florida month after visiting Cuba, having to re-route and spend the summer in Madrid, Spain instead.
A third also agreed they're 'not going to bother with that country [the U.S.] anymore'.
The apparent tightening of tourist restrictions has occurred alongside the release of a list of 75 countries, the residents of whom will be outright banned from moving to the US permanently.
Marco Rubio announced on Wednesday (14 Jan) that consular offices would no longer be approving official documentation from nations they believe have been 'extracting wealth from the American people'.
This process will be put into place from 21 January whilst 'screening and vetting’ procedures' are reassessed.
"We are working to ensure the generosity of the American people will no longer be abused," an X explanation shared by the State Department read. "The Trump Administration will always put America First."
The full list of countries banned from entering the country altogether are:
The right-wing leader had originally banned citizens from just 12 countries from entering the States on a long-term basis.
Residents of Afghanistan, Burma, Burundi, Chad, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Republic of the Congo, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Togo, Turkmenistan, Venezuela and Yemen were outlawed in June, in a bid to protect America from 'foreign terrorists' and other security threats.
Trump expanded this rule in December to over 30 countries in response to the fatal shooting of a member of the National Guard in Washington DC the month prior, by a man identified as an Afghan national who arrived in the US during 2021 under a resettlement program.
"If they don’t have a stable government there, if they don’t have a country that can sustain itself and tell us who those individuals are and help us vet them, why should we allow people from that country to come here to the United States?" Department of Homeland Security lead Kristi Noem told Fox News.