Toronto Students USA Trips Banned Over Trump Concerns

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Future trips to the U.S.A for students and staff have been banned in Canada’s largest school district in Toronto. The concerns come amidst President Trump’s travel ban which would apply to them if implemented.

Director of education, John Malloy, said that although Trump’s order is currently suspended by federal courts, 24 already approved trips for about 800 students will proceed, however even those visits would be canceled if the ban is reinstated.

“No student or staff trips to the U.S. will be booked until further notice,” Malloy said. “It is my hope that our students, staff, and parents will understand and support this difficult decision.”

If reinstated, the order will temporarily prohibit the arrival of citizens from six countries — Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen.

“We do not make this decision lightly, but given the uncertainty of these new travel restrictions and when they may come into effect if at all, we strongly believe that our students should not be placed into these situations of potentially being turned away at the border,” Malloy said.

The Toronto school-board’s decision comes after an announcement on March 15 that the Girl Guides of Canada, a group comparable to the Girl Scouts, was also suspending it’s travel to the U.S.

“Our operational decision to limit U.S. travel at this time was a difficult one to make, but one based solely on ensuring all girls and women in guiding can fully participate in our guiding trips, no matter the destination,” the group said.

Trump initially ordered the travel restriction for 90 days for 7 Muslim-majority countries, including Iraq, on Jan. 27, in a bid to review how visas are approved from countries suspected of harboring terrorists.

After a federal court stopped that ban, Trump issued a new order with the same objective. The second order, however, did not include Iraq, because administration officials said that country improved its visa processing.

Waivers to the ban are possible for travelers, however, Toronto schools expressed concern that students who are citizens of any of the six countries would be covered by the order and could potentially be turned back at the border.