Tonga is not a threat': anger as small Pacific nation falls under Trump visa restrictions

"The measures included expanding the US travel ban to bar nationals from five more countries: Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan, and Syria. The US also issued partial restrictions and entry limitations on 15 additional countries: Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Cote d'Ivoire, Dominica, Gabon, the Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Despite the restrictions being categorised as partial, visas will only be issued in a handful of exceptional circumstances to US government employees, for example."

"Tongans are not a threat to US security, said Dr Tevita Kaili, a Tongan professor at Brigham Young University, Hawaii. The Tongan government sent troops to both Iraq and Afghanistan to support US security. In the United Nations, the majority of the Tongan government's votes align with the US. The claim that the US is protecting its security by restricting Tongans from travelling to the US is unfounded."

The US implemented further visa and entry restrictions beginning 1 January, expanding the travel ban to bar nationals from Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan and Syria. Partial restrictions and entry limitations were placed on 15 additional countries including Tonga. Visas under the partial restrictions will generally be issued only in exceptional circumstances, such as for US government employees. The White House cited high rates of visa overstays among Tongans—more than 14% for some visa categories—as justification. The United States hosts the largest Tongan diaspora, about 70,000 concentrated in San Francisco and Salt Lake City, with roughly 150,000 Tongans living abroad overall. The measures have provoked anger and concern and also affect Tongans already on work and student visas in the US.

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