Trump travel ban may hit MLB players from Cuba, Venezuela
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Team Cuba during in the sixth inning against Team USA during the World Baseball Classic Semifinals March 19, 2023 in Miami in 2023. Photo: Megan Briggs/Getty Images
An expected travel ban by the Trump administration on more than three dozen countries could prevent some Major League Baseball players from Cuba and Venezuela from coming into — or leaving — the United States.
The big picture: President Trump could announce a travel ban as soon as Friday, under an executive order he issued on his first day in office.
- The order set the stage for what could be an absolute ban on travel to the U.S. from Cuba and Venezuela.
Zoom in: Such a ban would mean that Cuban and Venezuelan major league and minor league baseball players with P-1 visas — non-immigrant visas for internationally recognized athletes and entertainers — could face new difficulties in the U.S., immigration lawyers say.
- Without a special exemption, those players would have a hard time returning to the U.S. after games against the Toronto Blue Jays or after playing in winter baseball leagues in Mexico, Venezuela or the Dominican Republic.
Zoom out: Baseball players would be high-profile examples of the impact travel bans could have on people across the country.
- "A blanket travel ban will tear families apart, weaken the economy and undermine America's leadership on the global stage," the Asian Pacific American Caucus, Congressional Hispanic Caucus and Congressional Black Caucus said in a statement.
- "We cannot allow fear and prejudice to guide immigration policy and risk irreparable harm to our country's standing in the world."
Zoom in: Players from Cuba and Venezuela have had an increasing presence in the major and minor league in the past two decades. There were 18 players from Cuba and 58 from Venezuela on Opening Day in 2024, according to MLB.
- The Houston Astros had the most international players with 16, which included Cuban and Venezuelan-born stars.
- The league's total didn't doesn't count the many in the minor leagues and those who were called up or signed later in the 2024 season.
Catch up quick: Within hours of taking office in January, Trump signed an executive order requiring the State Department to identify countries "for which vetting and screening information is so deficient" that a travel ban is needed.
- The order gave the State Department 60 days to complete the report, which is due Friday.
- More than 40 countries that could be affected by the ban will be grouped into three categories with varying travel restrictions, Reuters and The New York Times have reported.
- Countries that could be subject to the harshest visa restrictions include Afghanistan, Iran, Cuba, Sudan, Syria and Venezuela, the reports said.
A White House official tells Axios no decisions have been made.
- A State Department spokesperson said the department is reviewing all visa programs, as directed by the executive order, and declined to comment further.
- A spokesperson for Major League Baseball did not respond to a request for comment.
State of play: The Los Angeles Dodgers and the Chicago Cubs kicked off the major league season this week in Tokyo, but MLB's official Opening Day is next Thursday.
- Major league players who could be affected by new travel restrictions are already with their MLB teams here.
- But those with P-1 visas who are from any of the countries with the harshest visa restrictions could be stuck in the U.S. — or prevented from returning here if they were to leave, said Amy Maldonado, an immigration lawyer in Michigan who handles baseball players' visas.
- "An absolute ban would mean that these players won't be able to travel" internationally, Maldonado said.
It's unclear how many baseball players might be affected by a travel ban, but said it would mainly hurt younger players and those in the minor leagues.
- Most foreign stars or those experienced enough to qualify for salary arbitration typically have obtained green cards, she said.
Coaches, scouts and staff members from those countries who have P-1 visas also would have limited ability to travel, she said. And teams could have a hard time bringing drafted or signed players into the U.S.
- New York-based immigration lawyer Brad Bernstein also posted on Instagram that a possible travel ban would affect MLB players.
On the other hand: The Trump administration could give athletes and entertainers exceptions from total visa restrictions.
Between the lines: In recent years, Cuba and Venezuela have been essential pipelines for talent in an increasingly international game.
- Those two countries, along with the Dominican Republic, also have helped diversify MLB by contributing Afro-Latino players as the number of Black American players has declined.
