Some visitors report extra scrutiny as Trump’s new travel ban begins

MIAMI (AP):

President Donald Trump’s new ban on travel to the U.S. by citizens from a dozen countries took effect Monday with relative calm, as some travelers with valid visas reported extra scrutiny at American airports before being allowed entry.

The ban targeting mainly African and Middle Eastern countries kicked in amid rising tension over the president’s escalating campaign of immigration enforcement. But it arrived with no immediate signs of the chaos that unfolded at airports across the US during Trump’s first travel ban in 2017.

Vincenta Aguilar said she was anxious Monday as she and her husband, both Guatemalan citizens, were subjected to three different interviews by US officials after arriving at Miami International Airport and showing tourist visas the couple received last week.

“They asked us where we work, how many children we have, if we have had any problems with the law, how we are going to afford the cost of this travel, how many days we will stay here,” said Aguilar, who along with her husband was visiting their son for the first time since he left Guatemala 22 years ago.

She said they were released about an hour after their flight landed, greeting their waiting family members in Florida with tears of relief. Guatemala is not among the countries included in the new ban or flagged for extra travel restrictions.

The new proclamation that Trump signed last week applies to citizens of Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. It also imposes heightened restrictions on people from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela who are outside the US and don’t hold a valid visa.

The new ban does not revoke visas previously issued to people from countries on the list, according to guidance issued Friday to all US diplomatic missions. However, unless an applicant meets narrow criteria for an exemption to the ban, his or her application will be rejected starting Monday. Travellers with previously issued visas should still be able to enter the US even after the ban takes effect.

Narayana Lamy, a Haitian citizen who works for his home country’s government, said he was told to wait after showing his passport and tourist visa Monday at the Miami airport while a US official confirmed by phone that he was allowed into the country to visit family members.

Luis Hernandez, a Cuban citizen and green card holder who has lived in the US for three years, said he had no problems returning Monday to Miami after a weekend visiting family in Cuba.

“They did not ask me anything,” Hernandez said. “I only showed my residency card.”