South Florida, home to large communities in Venezuela, Haiti and Cuba, is hit hard by Trump’s travel ban
President Trump bans travel from several countries around the world
President Donald Trump has signed a declaration that he will ban travel from 12 countries and limit the other seven.
President Donald Trump’s response to a new travel ban was quick in South Florida and one that is considered to be the largest Venezuela, Haiti and Cuban communities in the United States.
“We are deeply concerned about this decision to further divide us as Americans and harm our hardworking families who contribute to the essential structure of our community,” said Daniela Levine Cava of Miami-Dade in a social media post on June 5th. “Our federal job should be to protect our borders and pass comprehensive immigration reforms rather than demolishing our communities.”
The Trump declaration, signed on June 4th, will come into effect on June 9th. The administration cited security reasons for the ban on travelers from dozens of countries and restrictions from seven other countriess. It prohibits foreigners from Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen from entering the United States. Travel restrictions, including suspension, will be placed in Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.
Of the approximately 1.7 million visas issued to people in these countries between 2014 and 2023, almost half were from Venezuela. They reunited with their families and visited Disney World and other theme parks and attractions., According to recent media and social media accounts.
Venezuelans and Haitians oppose travel bans
The declaration suspends entry into the United States for Venezuelan citizens on temporary work, research and tourism visas.
“Venezuela lacks competent or cooperative central authority to issue passports and civil documents, and there is no appropriate screening and review measures,” the declaration said. He also said that the overstare rate of visas from the country is close to 10%.
The Venezuelan mother, who moved to South Florida six years ago, told CBS News she wasn’t sure if she was an adult son who stayed in a South American country., You will be allowed to visit her. The announcement also sparked concern among bloggers writing about Disney parks in California and Florida, and questioned the impact of restrictions on the thousands of people visiting the park each year from Venezuela.
Members of the Haitian community in South Florida also spoke about the ban. According to the Institute for Immigration Policy, more than 230,000 Native Haitians live in metropolitan areas, with about 4% of the region’s population living there.
Marlein Bastien, born in Haiti and now on the Miami-Dade County Commissioner’s committee, said he was “deeply disappointed” by the ban. In a statement, she called it “cruel and xenophobia” and “a blatant attempt to shake up those who are already suffering.”
“This unfair policy will disrupt our community, separate families and disrupt our lives,” said Bastien, founder of Family Action Network Movement, a South Florida-based organization. The decision, she said, is “a betrayal of the value that America claims to protect righteousness and opportunity for everyone.”
Haitians received an average of 24,337 non-immigrant visas in the United States over a decade, while Cubans averaged 12,464. Travel from countries that have entered the pandemic have started to rise again by 2023. Haitians received 10,515 non-immigrant visas that year, while Cubans received 6,146.
Trump’s declaration said he directed Secretary of State, Marco Rubio and others to identify countries where many countries found themselves short because review and screening information is lacking enough to guarantee a full or partial suspension of citizens to the United States.
Rubio, a native of South Florida, whose parents moved from Cuba in 1956, shared an X post from the White House, attributed to Trump.
USA Today saw the number of visas distributed to foreigners from problematic countries over the past decade. A non-immigrant visa is a temporary document issued for tourism, temporary work, medical, research, or business.
How many visas have you been issued for visitors?
Foreigners in countries currently facing travel bans account for less than 63,000 non-immigrant visas in recent years when statistics are available. At least 20 other countries not included in the ban each explained more visitor visas that year.
Venezuela has recently led 19 restricted countries to visitors to the US, but Iranians received 17,634 non-immigrant visas in 2023. Myanmar, which US documents recognize as Burma, was next acquired with 13,284.
The number of non-immigrant visas granted to nationalities in other countries facing bans are as follows:
- Sudan, 4,506
- Yemen, 4,204
- Afghanistan, 2,665
- Libya, 2,259
- Republic of the Congo, 2,175
- Chad, 2,090
- Equatorial Guinea, 1,534
- Eritrea, 931
- Somalia, 463
Looking at the entire decade, Haitians top the list and received the most non-immigrant visas among banned countries at 243,369. Iran came in second with 162,356 and Burma/Myanmar came in third with 115,520.
Among countries facing travel restrictions rather than bans, five foreigners from Sierra Leone, Togo, Laos, Turkmenistan and Burundi received a total of less than 8,500 non-immigrant visas in 2023.
Which country residents received the most non-immigrant visa?
Mexico led the world in 2023 with 2.3 million non-immigrant visas. The figure also includes stacked cards that allow Mexicans to cross national borders for less than 30 days.
Over 1.3 million people planning to visit the US from India received non-immigrant visas in 2023 and 1.06 million from Brazil.
Other countries where nationality received the most visited visa in 2023 include:
- Colombia, 476,293
- China, 417,008
- Argentina, 291,892
- Ecuador, 274,799
- Philippines, 285,860
- Israel, 190,415
- Vietnam, 133,781
- Dominican Republic, 130,360
- Türkiye, 130,168
- Nigeria, 113,695
- Peru, 111,851
USA Today’s national correspondent, Dinah Voyles Pulver, writes about climate change, violent weather and other news. Contact her at dpulver @usatoday.com or @dinahvp.
