Venezuelan Little League team denied entry into U.S. amid Trump travel ban
On June 4, President Donald Trump executed a ban on immigrant visas and all tourist, student, and exchange visitor visas (B-1, B-2, B-1/B-2, F, M, and J visas) for residents of seven countries: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.
Some exceptions were allowed. According to the nonprofit American Immigration Council, the bans didn't apply to anyone with a current green card or a current valid visa; people who were immediate relatives of a U.S. citizen (spouses, children under the age of 21, and parents); and refugees; asylees; and individuals granted humanitarian protection.
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Apparently, Little Leaguers who did not these criteria were not exempted from the ban.
According to multiple reports Friday, the team from Venezuela's Cacique Mara Little League that qualified for the Senior League Baseball World Series in South Carolina was denied visas for the upcoming tournament.
Fox reports the team of 13- to 16-year-olds was scheduled to participate in the tournament after winning the Latin American championship in Mexico. But when the team traveled to Colombia to apply for their visas at the U.S. embassy in Bogotá two weeks ago, they were denied.
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In a statement, Little League International called the move "extremely disappointing, especially to these young athletes."
Little League International told POLITICO that the Santa Maria de Aguayo Little League team from Victoria, Mexico, who finished in second place in the Latin America qualifiers behind the Venezuelan team, will replace them.
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