- Nigerians Not Affected Yet
| Nigeria Embassy in Washington DC, United States recently allayed fears that the country is not affected in President Donald Trump’s controversial executive order denying all refugees and immigrants from seven predominantly Muslim countries visa entrance to America. The order halted travel by people with passports from Libya, Somalia, Sudan and four other Middle East nations for 90 days, and stopped refugee resettlement for 120 days. |
Many Nigerians are apprehensive that Trump’s executive order might affect the ongoing two-year reciprocal Visa issuance agreement. But so far, that has not been affected in any way.
The United State visa ban which continues to reverberate across the globe also suspended the admission of refugees from Syria indefinitely and bars entry for three months to residents from the predominantly Muslim countries of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen.
The development has however; attracted immediate reactions from world leaders with Iran, one of the targeted nations, suggesting it would limit issuing visas to American tourists. In the same vein, the governments of the United Kingdom (UK), Germany and Canada, among others, have condemned the policy, describing it as undemocratic and against Western values.
The UK Prime Minister, Ms. Theresa May, was quoted to have distanced Britain from the controversial immigration policy, while the German Chancellor, Ms. Angela Merkel, was reported to have told Trump, the order violated United Nations (UN) refugees’ policy. Also, the Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Tradeau, in response to the visa ban said that the country does not discriminate against immigrants based on faith or race.
The head of the African Union Commission, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, slammed the US President on the ban.
Dlamini-Zuma predicted ‘turbulent times’ for the continent due to the travel ban, but criticised the US president’s exclusive sentiments. “The very country to whom our people were taken as slaves during the transatlantic slave trade, have now decided to ban refugees from some of our countries. What do we do about this? Indeed, this is one of the greatest challenges to our unity and solidarity,” she told African leaders in the Ethiopian capital.
Dlamini-Zuma also expressed concern about Trump’s presidency, saying it could negatively affect the global advances made in the fight for gender equality and climate change.
But Australian Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, recently disclosed that Trump had agreed to keep an Obama administration promise to resettle refugees languishing in Pacific Island camps despite the US toughening its stance on Muslim immigration.
Australian prime minister said Trump agreed during a 25-minute telephone conversation to accept an unspecified number of refugees as promised in the final months of the previous administration. The development has given hope of ending weeks of uncertainty.
A check by this publication shows that the following nationalities and groups of people are affected by Trump’s order, which is titled “Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States”
Refugees
The decree prohibits entry to all refugees, regardless of nationality, for 120 days. Beyond that time, the United States will admit a maximum of 50, 000 refugee in 2017, more than halving the 110, 000-person limit set by former president, Barack Obama. The US refugee programme was previously frozen for three months following the September 11 attack in 2001.
Syrians
All Syrians, refugee or otherwise, are forbidden from entering the United States until further notice. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the Syrian war has forced 4.8 million people to flee the country since 2011. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said in December it had recorded the deaths of 312, 001 people since the conflict began with anti-government protests in March 2011.
Iran, Iraq, Yemen, Somalia, Sudan and Libya
No visas will be issued for 90 days to migrants or visitors from seven mainly Muslim countries: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.
Green Card Holders
The decree does not affect those who hold a US green card. Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly declared the entry of lawful permanent residents to be “in the national interest.” However, White House Chief of Staff, Reince Priebus, said that nationals from the seven countries named in the order should expect to be subject to increased border controls.
Visa holders
All visa holders coming from the seven specified countries are subject to the new order, with the exception of those who hold diplomatic visas or visas to international institutions such as NATO or the United Nations. Judges in at least four states have blocked part of the ban, ordering authorities to stop deporting refugees and other travellers stuck at US airports.
Binationals
The situation for individuals with dual nationality remains complex. American citizens who also have passports from one of the seven barred countries are not affected by the order. But dual nationals who hold passports from one of the seven countries plus an additional foreign country will not be able to gain entrance.
