No Sri Lankans stranded at US airports due to travel ban

Sri Lanka's Foreign Ministry on Thursday said that no Sri Lankans were stranded in the US airports following a travel ban issued by President Donald Trump on seven Muslim-majority countries.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mahishini Colonne was quoted by Xinhua news agency as saying that Sri Lankan Missions in the US had informed Colombo that there were no confirmed cases of stranded Sri Lankans at American airports and all Sri Lankan missions were on alert and in touch with relevant authorities on this matter.

She clarified that Sri Lanka was not on the list of countries whose nationals were banned from entering the US.

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 included travelers from Malaysia, 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 US 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.

--IANS

qd/vt