Haiti’s national team qualified for the 2026 World Cup in the United States, but Washington won’t issue travel ban waivers for Haitian fans.
Haiti was among the dozen countries that President Donald Trump banned travel from in June, alongside Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. Travel from Haiti was suspended due to high visa overstay rates, illegal Haitian immigration, and dysfunction within the country, which posed national security risks.
Haiti earned its spot in the World Cup this week after defeating Nicaragua 2-0 in a qualifying match. The victory is particularly significant for the embattled country, as it marks only the second time its been to the World Cup — the last time being 1974.
Haiti’s dysfunction is reflected in its team. Only half the teammates were born in Haiti, with the other half only being born to Haitian parents. Violence in Haiti proper has forces the team to play its matches 500 miles away in the island nation of Curacao.
The Haitian team’s coach, the French Sebastien Migne, has never visited Haiti due to the danger associated with traveling to the island nation.
“It’s impossible because it’s too dangerous,” he told France Football magazine. “I usually live in the countries where I work, but I can’t here. There are no more international flights landing there.”
The decision of Washington not to issue travel ban waivers is sure to spark outrage within the world soccer community. The World Cup holds a similar philosophy to the Olympic games, allowing the nations of the world to put aside their differences and come together in friendly competition. The more idealistic fans may view the travel ban of violating this spirit of global fraternity.
A State Department spokesperson told Politico that Haitian fans may still submit visa applications, but that they “may be ineligible for visa issuance or admission to the United States.” The one exception for applicants include those whose travel would “advance U.S. national interest,” but the spokesperson said these exceptions would be “very rare.”
The Washington Examiner reached out to the Department of State for further comment.
Trump explained his rationale for banning travel from Haiti in June, citing the dysfunction within the country and high visa overstay rates.
“According to the Overstay Report, Haiti had a B‑1/B-2 visa overstay rate of 31.38 percent and an F, M, and J visa overstay rate of 25.05 percent. Additionally, hundreds of thousands of illegal Haitian aliens flooded into the United States during the Biden Administration. This influx harms American communities by creating acute risks of increased overstay rates, establishment of criminal networks, and other national security threats,” Trump’s June proclamation read.
TRUMP BANS TRAVEL FROM A DOZEN COUNTRIES, INCLUDING IRAN, CITING NATIONAL SECURITY CONCERNS
“As is widely known, Haiti lacks a central authority with sufficient availability and dissemination of law enforcement information necessary to ensure its nationals do not undermine the national security of the United States,” it added.
Haitian fans aren’t alone in this conundrum — Iranian fans are similarly barred from traveling to the U.S. next year to support their team.
