Trump’s move to bar U.S. entry for nationals from 12 countries has people even in an unlisted nation wondering if « Americans just don’t like us anymore. »
On most mornings, dozens of people line up and wait for appointments outside the U.S. Consulate in Johannesburg, South Africa, many seeking applications for visas to travel to the U.S. It can take up to five or six months just to get one of the appointments.
On Thursday, a chilly winter morning in South Africa, CBS News found hopeful travelers in the line worried about what could happen if they do make it to an arrival gate at a U.S. airport, or during their visits.
President Trump’s announcement on Wednesday of a looming travel ban on all citizens from 12 nations in Africa and the Middle East didn’t even include South Africa, despite the American leader’s tetchy relations with the country. But the anxiety caused by the return of blanket travel restrictions — something Mr. Trump did during his first term, too — was almost palpable in Johannesburg.
One person in the line said they were planning to travel for a work conference, but they wondered whether it was a good idea.
Another, tentatively planning to travel for non-essential reasons, worried that, with the last name Assad, it might be better to skip the planned trip entirely.
« Do I run the risk of being rounded up and sent to another country, or even jail? » they asked. « The risk is simply too high. »
No one in the line would give CBS News their full name — out of fear, most said, of any public comment possibly bringing a denial of their visa request.What African countries are facing Trump’s travel ban, and why?
Nationals of seven African countries are facing a ban on travel to the U.S. from June 9, per Mr. Trump’s announcement: Chad, Somalia, Sudan, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea and Libya.
Three of those countries — Sudan, Somalia and Libya — were among the countries put under a travel ban during Mr. Trump’s first term in January 2017, though the restrictions on Sudan were later dropped, and those against Somalia and Libya were eased.
Many of the 12 countries on the new list have been wracked by repressive regimes and plagued by conflict.
« We don’t want them », President Trump said as he announced the ban on Wednesday, which he said was needed « to protect Americans from dangerous actors.
