WASHINGTON – The Trump Administration does not anticipate more people will be trapped in airports in the United States because banned travelers will be blocked from boarding planes in their home countries.
“We are also working closely with airline partners to prevent travelers who would not be granted entry under the executive orders from boarding international flights to the U.S,” the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement Sunday. “Therefore, we do not anticipate that further individuals traveling by air to the United States will be affected.”
President Trump’s executive order bars entry to the United States from nationals from seven Muslim majority countries — Iraq, Iran, Syria, Somalia, Sudan, Libya, and Yemen – for 90 days; suspends all refugee admission for 120 days and bars Syrian refugees indefinitely.
The rollout of the program over the weekend meant some 109 affected travelers in transit were stopped and detained at airports in the US for additional screening, according to the White House. The detentions barred deportations of those detainees back to their home countries.
In the future, such travelers would be blocked from getting travel visas in their home country and wouldn’t make it on an international flight.
“We are and will remain in compliance with judicial orders,” the Department of Homeland Security statement said. “We are and will continue to enforce President Trump’s executive order humanely and with professionalism. DHS will continue to protect the homeland.”