Colombo, Feb 2 (NIA) – Sri Lanka’s Foreign Ministry, on Thursday, said that no Sri Lankan’s were stranded in US airports following a travel ban issued by President Donald Trump on seven major Muslim countries.
Foreign Ministry Spokesperson, Mahishini Colonne said that Sri Lankan Missions in the US had informed Colombo that there were no confirmed cases of stranded Sri Lankans at US airports and added all Sri Lankan Missions in the US were on alert and in touch with relevant US authorities on this matter.
She further clarified that Sri Lanka was not on the list of countries in the recent US executive order, issued by President Trump.
A media report said recently that 71 individuals from 20 countries including Sri Lanka were detained at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport following Trump’s travel ban.
According to the ‘No Ban JFK’, a coalition of volunteer attorneys camped out at JFK, those detained include a Malaysian and a Chinese national, as well as travelers from Turkey, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, France, Algeria, Jordan, Qatar, Senegal, Switzerland, Algeria, Egypt and Guinea, which were not on the US travel blacklist.
Trump’s travel ban, issued last week, has caused confusion at U.S. airports and sparked lawsuits.
It bars incoming travelers from seven countries — Iraq, Iran, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Somalia and Libya — for 90 days and blocks refugees from around the world for 120 days.
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