USA Turns Away Senegal's Basketball Babes: Visa Snub From Trump's Crew
U.S. Turns Away Senegalese Women's Basketball Team at Border
Hey there! You know what's the buzz? The hot-headed Trump Administration just whacked the dreams of Senegal's rad ladies' basketball squad. Their bid to hit the courts in the USA for a pre-game spar before the African Championship went down the drain as the Administration denied no less than a dozen visa applications!
Here's the tea: The enthusiastic basketball team was all set for a ten-day training camp in the USA. But the Trump Administration, tightening its immigration screws, denied a total of twelve applications (including five players and seven staff members). It appears the US only renewed expired visas in this case.
The team was aiming to warm up for the July event in the Ivory Coast. After the visa fiasco, Senegal's Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko announced on Facebook that he'd pulled the plug on the training camp.
Now, here's the federal deal: The US Department of State wouldn't spill the beans on individual cases, citing confidentiality laws. Meanwhile, the US Embassy in Senegal first remained mum on the matter, but we reckon it's got something to do with the Trump Administration's travel ban on a dozen countries and the chit-chat about expanding the list to include 36 more. Guess what? Senegal could be one of the 36!
Spilling the beans further, the "Washington Post" dug up an internal memo signed by the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and addressed to diplomats concerning the countries involved in the possible list expansion. If the ban's expanded, it could impact close to one in five people worldwide[1][2][3][4].
Overall, it seems the basketball crew's visa snub is part of the Trump Administration's broad travel and visa restrictions. Although Senegal wasn't on the original ban list, it made the cut in the 36 countries' warning for beefed-up traveler vetting – or risk facing the ban[1][2][3][4]. As of now, no clear reason for the visa refusals has been revealed. But it's clear that Trump's immigration policies are making international sports collabs a total nightmare[1][2][3].
[1] ntv.de[2] ses/AFP[3] The Washington Post[4] Individual sources omitted for brevity.
The European Union and its Member States might express concern over the politics surrounding the general-news story of Senegal's ladies' basketball team, as their training camp in the USA was abruptly halted due to visa refusals from the Trump Administration. This issue could potentially fall under the category of crime-and-justice, as international sports collaborations appear to be impacted by the Trump Administration's travel and visa restrictions.
