Professional soccer player Deyna Castellanos, a forward for the Portland Thorns, recently announced that she did not join the Venezuelan national team for a pair of games due to concerns about potential travel and immigration policies imposed by the Trump administration. Castellanos expressed worries about not being able to return to the United States. She is not the only NWSL player to have missed international games for similar reasons. Players from Zambia, including Barbra Banda, Grace Chanda, and Prisca Chilufya, also faced travel concerns and were not called up for games in China. These issues are a result of ongoing changes in immigration and travel policies in the United States.
The NWSL has released a statement acknowledging the challenges faced by international athletes in the current geopolitical climate and expressed a commitment to collaborating with relevant bodies to ensure athletes’ ability to compete on a global level without facing travel restrictions and uncertainties. The executive order signed by President Trump during his first term included considerations for travel bans from certain countries, including Venezuela and Cuba. The review of these policies is ongoing.
In addition to travel concerns, policies targeting transgender athletes have also raised alarms in the NWSL, with Canadian midfielder Quinn, who came out as nonbinary in 2020, expressing considerations about playing in the United States due to the current climate. As professional athletes and entertainers often require visas to play in the U.S., the ongoing uncertainty around immigration policies is a significant concern for international players.
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