Trump’s travel ban is having a spillover effect on European dual nationals - washingtonpost

BERLIN — Thousands of citizens of U.S.-allied nations in Europe and beyond may be barred from entering the United States under President Trump’s travel ban, sparking a wave of outrage and fresh confusion that threatened to open an early rift across the Atlantic.

Yet the administration also appeared to be doling out exceptions to nations such as Britain — playing favorites among allies at the possible expense of long-standing relationships.

Following instructions from the Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. embassies in Berlin and Paris warned Monday that German and French citizens who are also dual nationals of Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen — the seven mostly Muslim nations targeted by the ban — would fall under the travel ban, joining people who hold passports only from those countries.

The measure’s full effect appeared unclear — even to the U.S. embassies in Europe, where conflicting information circulated. The U.S. Embassy in Paris, for instance, warned that even existing U.S. visas granted to dual citizens would be revoked, while the U.S. Embassy in Berlin suggested only that new visas would not be granted.

The Trump administration, however, may be favoring the dual nationals of some Western nations — a turn of events that could further complicate the White House’s already floundering relations with Europe. After talks with the White House, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, for instance, reassured his nation Monday that dual British nationals of the flagged Muslim nations have received an “exemption” from the travel ban.

But German Chancellor Angela Merkel suggested that it targets Muslims and said she would seek to defend the travel rights of all German citizens.

“The necessary and also resolute fight against terror does not justify in any way a general suspicion against people of a certain faith, in this case against people of Muslim faith, or people of a certain origin,” Merkel said Monday. Alluding to the uncertainty surrounding the ban, she added that Germany “is making all efforts to clarify the legal situation for the dual citizens affected and to strongly assert their interests.”

The U.S. guidance appeared to catch the Europeans off guard. The French Foreign Ministry issued a warning about travel to the United States, mentioning the uncertainty of the regulations for dual nationals. - Read More

Trump’s travel ban is having a spillover effect on European dual nationals

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