Ramon Benavides sat patiently inside Miami International Airport on Sunday, relieved to see his wife from Cuba arrive in the U.S. before President Donald Trump’s travel ban goes into effect on Monday.
Benavides told WLRN that he’s worried about the travel ban’s impact on his fellow Cubans because Cuba’s economy is in dire straits and he knows many on the communist island nation are seeking to escape to the U.S. for a better life.
“There are a lot of health problems, a lot of problems with electricity, food, hospitals,” he said.
The travel ban, fears Benavides, will keep many families separated from each other.
Trump, in a video message released last week, revived a hallmark policy of his first term, announcing that citizens of 12 countries — including Haiti — would be banned from visiting the United States. Those from Cuba and Venezuela, along with five other countries, face heightened restrictions to visit the U.S.
READ MORE: Trump's new travel ban leaves many distressed in South Florida's immigrant communities
The policy, which officially takes effect Monday at 12:01 a.m., does not have an end date.
How the new travel ban rules immediately impact visitors from Cuba, Venezuela and Haiti is unclear.
The State Department, the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection — the main federal agencies charged with enforcing Trump’s travel ban — have not issued any addition details beyond what the White House disclosed last Wednesday when Trump first announced it.
In his lengthy White House proclamation, Trump “suspended” entry of Haitians into the U.S. He cited the overstay rate between 25% and 31% of Haitians, meaning those admitted to the U.S. legally with visas but remain after the visa expires.
He also “suspended” certain visas for those visitors from Cuba and Venezuela, citing, among others issues, the refusal of the government of both nations to accept those deported from the U.S. He also cited Cuba as “a state sponsor of terrorism,” an allegation the Cuban government has rejected.
The White House has said that the list of countries can be changed, if authorities in the designated countries make “material improvements” to their own rules and procedures. But new countries could be added, too, “as threats emerge around the world.”
The travel ban stems from a Jan. 20 executive order Trump issued requiring the Department of State, Department of Homeland Security and the Director of National Intelligence to compile a report on “hostile attitudes” toward the U.S.
The aim is to “protect its 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,” the administration said.
In a video posted on social media, Trump tied the new ban to a recent terrorist attack in Boulder, Colorado, saying it underscored the dangers posed by some visitors who overstay visas. The man charged in the attack is from Egypt, a country that is not on Trump’s restricted list. U.S. officials say he overstayed a tourist visa.
In an interview Sunday on “This Week in South Florida,” Doral immigration attorney Angel Leal said the travel ban is “devastating” to immigrants in the U.S. who have petitioned for legal residency for loved ones as part of the family reunification process under U.S. immigration law.
“I'm talking about non immediate relatives, spouses of lawful permanent residents, minor children of lawful permanent residents, adult, single children of residents, married children of citizens, siblings of citizens — who have been waiting years to have to come legally through family reunification — are now not going to be able to do that during [the travel ban],” said Leal.
Who is exempt from the ban?
1. Green card holders
2. Dual citizens, including U.S. citizens who also have citizenship of one of the banned countries
3. Some athletes: athletes and their coaches traveling to the U.S. for the World Cup, Olympics or other major sporting event as determined by the U.S. secretary of state
4. Afghans who worked for the U.S. government or its allies in Afghanistan and are holders of Afghan special immigrant visas
5. Iranians belonging to an ethnic or religious minority who are fleeing prosecution
6. Certain foreign national employees of the U.S. government who have served abroad for at least 15 years, and their spouses and children
7. People who were granted asylum or admitted to the U.S. as refugees before the ban took effect
8. People with U.S. family members who apply for visas in connection to their spouses, children or parents
9. Diplomats and foreign government officials on official visits
10. Those traveling to U.N. headquarters in New York solely on official U.N. business
11. Representatives of international organizations and NATO on official visits in the U.S.
12. Children adopted by U.S. citizens.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
