Looming travel ban by Donald Trump negatively affects bodybuilding.
The updated travel ban by the Trump administration can affect the sport of bodybuilding negatively.
With the sport expanding worldwide at a very fast pace, athletes from all over the world dream to travel to the USA, to compete at various prestigious events, which includes the Olympia Weekend.
Athletes from all over the world already had a very difficult time traveling to the USA, and with the new stricter travel bans proposed by Trump’s new administration, athletes such as 2022 Mr. Olympia, Hadi Choopan, will have a very difficult time, trying to travel to the USA.
Even with a VISA in hand, the new laws can make it almost impossible for these athletes to make the trip to the USA.
If the travel ban is in full force, some of the top names that bodybuilding has to offer will not make it to the biggest events, with the most prestige and prize money.
The federations, and show promoters, will have a nightmare situation, trying to get these athletes into the USA.
The Travel Ban – The recent updates.
The Trump administration is working on finalizing a travel ban that would prohibit citizens from a “red list” of countries from entering the U.S., officials told The New York Times and Reuters.
The ban would fall under an executive order, signed by the president on Jan. 20, titled “Protecting the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other,” meant to address “national security and public safety threats.”
The order claims it will protect U.S. citizens from “aliens who intend to commit terrorist attacks, threaten our national security, espouse hateful ideology, or otherwise exploit the immigration laws for malevolent purposes.”
It gave Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard a deadline of 60 days from the order – in about two weeks – to identify such countries and enact the ban.
According to the reports, the draft identifies “red list” countries as Sudan, Venezuela, Somalia, Syria, Yemen, Iran, Libya, Cuba and North Korea – which Trump previously banned or restricted – to be barred from traveling to the U.S. Pakistan and Afghanistan are expected to be added to the list.
Countries coded as “orange” will have limited but not completely prohibited access, and “yellow” countries will have 60 days to address any “deficiencies” before facing restrictions.
It’s unclear if those with valid visas will lose their permitted entry into the U.S.
Which countries did Trump ban last time?
In 2017, during Trump’s first term, the president created a series of bans against citizens from Muslim-majority countries. Those from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen were banned for 90 days, refugees for 120 days were blocked, and travel from Syria was suspended.
