Arizona State University is a haven for athletes from all over the world. They represent six continents and compete across a variety of sports.<\/p>\n
The recent announcement by President Donald Trump that citizens of 12 countries would be banned from visiting the United States and those from seven others would face restrictions has left many ASU athletes feeling unsettled.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s hard because my country is rumored to be added to the travel ban list,\u201d said ASU cross country runner Taiwo Mary Kuduro, who is from Nigeria. \u201cIt\u2019s pretty worrisome that my visa status may be in question because I come from an African country.\u201d<\/p>\n
Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen are on the travel ban list. Visitors from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela will face restrictions.<\/p>\n
The administration also said that 36 more countries \u2014 many of them in Africa, including Nigera \u2014 could be added to the list unless they address a variety of security issues.<\/p>\n
ASU athletic director Graham Rossini offered a voice of support for the athletes.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe currently do not have any issues with keeping our international athletes here,\u201d Rossini said. \u201cThey are Sun Devils just like the American-born athletes, and they will participate during the 2025\u201326 season.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although many of ASU\u2019s foreign athletes come from Europe, Canada and Australia, many of those from Africa and Asia fear their country could be next.<\/p>\n
\u201cI came here to golf and get an education,\u201d said Fifa Laopakdee, a Thai athlete on the men\u2019s golf team. \u201cThat\u2019s what I want to do, and I don\u2019t want to have to potentially worry about my status.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although Thailand is not on the restricted travel list, concern is prevalent among athletes from many countries during a period of immigration unrest and visa revocations.<\/p>\n
Some athletes say their concern is heightened as they watch ICE raids and sweeping deportations affect the Phoenix area.<\/p>\n
Additionally, in January, a conservative ASU student group called College Republicans United called for students to report their peers to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, an event that also attracted hundreds of protesters on ASU\u2019s Tempe campus.<\/p>\n
It can be difficult to watch.<\/p>\n
\u201cDue to it being an extremely poor look not only for the administration but for the university as well, these students shouldn\u2019t fear their visas being revoked,\u201d Phoenix immigration attorney Cody Hall said. \u201cUnfortunately, many others with similar status do not have that luxury and are subjected to deportations and visa revocations.\u201d<\/p>\n
In June, Emerson Colindres, a 19-year-old club soccer standout with dreams of playing collegiately, was detained by ICE and then deported to Honduras, which his family left more than a decade ago to escape violence. He had no criminal record.<\/p>\n
LeMerian Lemashon, one of three ASU distance runners from Kenya, is trying his best to avoid the outside noise.<\/p>\n
\u201cRight now, I\u2019m focused on running,\u201d he said. \u201cI cannot control what is going on politically. I am here to do my job.\u201d<\/p>\n
Many of ASU\u2019s foreign athletes share the same mindset: School and competition come first. Legal status comes second.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can\u2019t do anything about it,\u201d Kuduro said. \u201cYes, we are worried about the possibilities, but we have to focus on competing, which is why we are here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hall understands the concern.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously, the main focus is Latin-American countries for restrictions,\u201d he said. \u201cHowever, the point is, if you are on a visa in general, you may be subjected to status changes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Concerns extend beyond ASU.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe certainly have thought about it,\u201d Grand Canyon University athletic director Jamie Boggs said. \u201cIt will be more of an issue if it gains traction, but since we aren\u2019t as large as other DI schools, it could really impact our athletic composition.\u201d<\/p>\n
Studying and competing abroad is already a challenge for international athletes.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom experience, there is already an extensive process in place to obtain a visa,\u201d said Mathis Bondasz, a French tennis player for ASU. \u201cI can\u2019t see how it could be restricted more than it already is. I don\u2019t think that is possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bondasz is among the 80% of international athletes that make up ASU\u2019s tennis teams.<\/p>\n
\u201cDue to what is going on, it\u2019s hard to focus solely on tennis,\u201d Bondasz said. \u201cYou are only in control of what you came here to do, and for me, that is to play tennis. But I do worry for my teammates.\u201d<\/p>\n
Practices for the 2025 fall season are underway for five sports: football, volleyball, cross country, soccer and golf.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no point in sitting here and feeling sorry for ourselves,\u201d Lemashon said. \u201cWe have a whole new season starting and a lot to look forward to. Always have to look at the positives.\u201d<\/p>\n
With Phoenix less than 200 miles from Mexico\u2019s border, U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement raids are frequently in the news. Arizona ranked fifth in ICE arrests during a five-month stretch in 2025, according to data compiled by the Deportation Data Project.<\/p>\n
The visibility can be jarring.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt affects me and some of my teammates. That goes without saying,\u201d Laopakdee said. \u201cThey\u2019re my brothers. I cannot compete without them, but we know it\u2019s out of our control, and we must focus on golf.\u201d<\/p>\n
Approximately 14% of ASU athletes are international students. Nationally, it is particularly prevalent in tennis. International students represent 63 percent of NCAA men\u2019s tennis players and 62 percent of women\u2019s tennis players.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are proud of our student body on and off the field here in Tempe,\u201d Rossini said. \u201cThat will not change regardless of the legislation that comes from Washington.\u201d<\/p>\n
ASU is frequently ranked among the top universities for enrollment and draws many athletes from other countries.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt definitely is in the back of your mind, whether you want it there or not,\u201d distance runner Evaline Chepkoech said. \u201cThere are definitely Arizonans who are subjected to worse than we are, so we have to be grateful that we have a support system in place.\u201d<\/p>\n
Immigration lawyers across Arizona are watching closely.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are prepared to defend athletes if it gets to that point,\u201d Hall said. \u201cObviously, we would have to work things out with the university, but if called upon, we will be there no matter what.\u201d<\/p>\n
Coaches are paying attention, too.<\/p>\n
\u201cSeven of our eight players are foreign-born,\u201d ASU men\u2019s tennis coach Matt Hill said. \u201cI definitely account for that. This is an issue that goes beyond our team, but I am with my players through thick and thin. That is my job.\u201d<\/p>\n
ASU has not reported any ICE raids on campus.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe work to build and maintain a respectful, principled academic environment,\u201d an ASU spokesman said in a statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are here to teach and learn \u2013 not to engage in self-aggrandizing conduct in order to generate as much media attention and controversy as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Arizona State University is a haven for athletes from all over the world. They represent six continents and…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":163452,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5131],"tags":[5229,5643,22076,1587,10581,94429,1589,5005,9410,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-163451","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-phoenix","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-arizona","10":"tag-arizona-state-university","11":"tag-az","12":"tag-ice-raids","13":"tag-international-student-athletes","14":"tag-phoenix","15":"tag-president-donald-trump","16":"tag-travel-bans","17":"tag-united-states","18":"tag-united-states-of-america","19":"tag-unitedstates","20":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","21":"tag-us","22":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115066071029983162","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163451","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=163451"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163451\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/163452"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=163451"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=163451"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=163451"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}