Day one of Trump’s travel ban and it’s business as usual at MIA, for now
Miami International Airport appeared to be business as usual on the first day of the Trump administration travel restrictions for nationals of Cuba, Venezuela and Haiti — countries that are a large source of travel and migration to South Florida.
The ban took effect at 12:01 a.m. Monday, triggering concerns for travelers with valid U.S. visas as to whether they would be allowed to board flights and if so, be admitted into the United States.
While the State Department has said it will not revoke any currently valid visas, the agency also emphasized that it’s up to border agents under the Department of Homeland Security to admit people into the U.S.
Immigration experts and lawyers have said that the ban should not apply to those with valid visas under the suspended categories, yet the wording in the proclamation has triggered confusion among travelers. The proclamation states that current visa holders outside the U.S. are not subject to the travel ban, and outlined certain exceptions, including permanent residents.
READ MORE: ‘Confusion and frustration’: Trump travel ban is unclear on who can visit the U.S.
The ban includes a partial suspension on new visas issued to Cubans and Venezuelans, while there is a full suspension on visas issued to travelers from Haiti. More than a dozen other countries are also included in the restrictions.
In Haiti, passengers on the only direct daily flight into the United States, which lands at Miami International Airport, boarded from Cap-Haïtien International Airport without problems. There are dozens of daily flights between Latin America and the Caribbean and South Florida. That includes direct flights from Cuba and Haiti. While there are no direct flights from Venezuela, Venezuelans fly through third countries like Colombia and Panama to come to the United States.
One Haitian man who arrived at Miami International Airport told the Herald that he barely made it in before the travel ban took effect. He was coming to the U.S. through family reunification and in his hands he carried a brown envelope full of his documents. Experts have said that travelers with valid visas from the restricted countries could face increased scrutiny and should carry documents showing ties to the U.S.
Narayana Lamy, 47, arrived on a visa on the first of two flights from Cap-Haitien. He traveled to the city from Port-au-Prince, where he works at in the ministry of finance and arrived on Monday. He said he did not encounter any issues with border authorities.
Roland Bastien, a U.S. citizen who owns a tire shop in North Miami, arrived from Cap-Haitien on Monday and told the Herald that he did not experience any issues traveling into the United States. He said that there were passengers on board with green cards and valid visas and he didn’t witness any of them having problems upon entry to MIA.
Some Haitian travelers, while not happy about the travel ban, took their frustrations out on Haitian authorities. Mo François, a 64-year-old U.S. citizen who also arrived from Haiti on Monday after a five-day trip, said that Haitian authorities should condemn the travel ban.
“The Haitian authorities should stand up against this. We don’t have anyone to stand up for us; everything the foreigners tell them to do, they do it,” he said.
Cubans and Cuban Americans arriving at MIA also said their experience traveling Monday was normal. Juan Carlos Torres, a Cuban who is a resident of the United States, said he had no issues returning to Miami. He did not see anyone get turned away.
Magda Moreno, 58, an American citizen who flew in from Cuba Monday morning, said her trip back to Miami went smoothly. Still, she said it was “difficult” that her friends and family in Cuba will not be able to come to the States because of the travel ban.
“I didn’t vote [for Trump] because I didn’t think he was a good candidate for the presidency,” Moreno told reporters at the airport. “But for everyone else, they thought he was worth it and now they have to reap what they sow.”
Moreno said she hopes U.S. immigration and travel policies will be more welcoming in four years after Trump’s presidency.
“When these four years pass, the U.S. will return to what it used to be, at least a country that has welcomed so, so many immigrants. […] Only because of the capriciousness of one man, everything has been turned upside down,” she said.
The travel ban is a resurrection of other travel restrictions that Trump put into place during his first presidency.
This latest proclamation from the Trump administration states the government chose these countries because they have governments that cannot effectively screen their nationals or issue travel documentation. It also pointed to the high rate of visa overstays as another reason for the restrictions.
For Cuba and Venezuela, the ban suspends the issuance of tourist, business, and student visas (B-1, B-2, F, M, and J). For Haiti, there is a full suspension of new immigrant and non-immigrant visas. However, there are exceptions outlined for countries with both full and partial suspensions under the proclamation. That includes green card holders, refugees, dual nationals, diplomats, and athletes, among others. The ban could block as many as 34,000 immigrant visas and over 125,000 non-immigrant visas, according to an analysis from the American Immigration Council.
The other countries affected by the full travel ban are: Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.
The countries under the partial ban are: Burundi, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan.
This story was originally published June 9, 2025 at 1:50 PM.
