MIAMI 鈥� President Donald Trump's new to the U.S. by citizens from a dozen countries took effect Monday with relative calm, as some travelers with valid visas reported extra scrutiny at American airports before being allowed entry.
The ban targeting mainly African and Middle Eastern countries kicked in amid over the president鈥檚 of immigration enforcement. But it arrived with no immediate signs of the at airports across the U.S. during Trump鈥檚 first travel ban in 2017.
READ MORE: Foreign visitors arrive at Miami International Airport 鈥� just before start of Trump's travel ban
Vincenta Aguilar said she was anxious Monday as she and her husband, both Guatemalan citizens, were subjected to three different interviews by U.S. officials after arriving at Miami International Airport and showing tourist visas the couple received last week.
鈥淭hey asked us where we work, how many children we have, if we have had any problems with the law, how we are going to afford the cost of this travel, how many days we will stay here,鈥� said Aguilar, who along with her husband was visiting their son for the first time since he left Guatemala 22 years ago.
She said they were released about an hour after their flight landed, greeting their waiting family members in Florida with tears of relief. Guatemala is not among the countries included in the new ban or flagged for extra travel restrictions.
Trump's new ban shouldn't revoke previously issued visas
The new proclamation that Trump applies to citizens of Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. It also imposes heightened restrictions on people from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela who are outside the U.S. and don鈥檛 hold a valid visa.
The new ban does not revoke visas previously issued to people from countries on the list, according to to all U.S. diplomatic missions. However, unless an applicant meets narrow criteria for an , his or her application will be rejected starting Monday. Travelers with previously issued visas should still be able to even after the ban takes effect.
Narayana Lamy, a Haitian citizen who works for his home country's government, said he was told to wait after showing his passport and tourist visa Monday at the Miami airport while a U.S. official confirmed by phone that he was allowed into the country to visit family members.
Luis Hernandez, a Cuban citizen and green card holder who has lived in the U.S. for three years, said he had no problems returning Monday to Miami after a weekend visiting family in Cuba.
鈥淭hey did not ask me anything,鈥� Hernandez said. 鈥淚 only showed my residency card.鈥�
Ban appears to avoid chaos that followed Trump's first-term attempt
During Trump鈥檚 first term, a hastily written executive order ordering the denial of entry to citizens of mainly Muslim countries at numerous airports and other ports of entry, prompting successful legal challenges and major revisions to the policy.
Many immigration experts say the new ban is more carefully crafted and appears designed to beat court challenges that hampered the first by focusing on the visa application process.
Trump said this time that some countries had 鈥渄eficient鈥� screening for passports and other public documents or have historically refused to take back their own citizens. He relied extensively on an annual Homeland Security report of people who remain in the U.S. after their visas expired.
Measuring overstay rates has challenged experts for decades, but the government has made a limited attempt annually since 2016. Trump鈥檚 proclamation cites overstay rates for eight of the 12 banned countries.
Trump also tied the new ban to , saying it underscored the dangers posed by some visitors who overstay visas. U.S. officials say the man charged in the attack He is from Egypt, a country that is not on Trump鈥檚 restricted list.
Critics say travel ban sows division
The ban was quickly denounced by groups that provide aid and resettlement help to refugees.
鈥淭his policy is not about national security 鈥� it is about sowing division and vilifying communities that are seeking safety and opportunity in the United States,鈥� said Abby Maxman, president of Oxfam America, a nonprofit international relief organization.
Haiti鈥檚 transitional presidential council said in a social media post Monday that the ban 鈥渋s likely to indiscriminately affect all Haitians.鈥� Acknowledging 鈥渇ierce fighting鈥� against gangs, the council said it is strengthening Haiti's borders and would negotiate with the U.S. to drop Haiti from the list of banned countries.
Roland Bastien, a native of Haiti who is now a U.S. citizen, said he supports the travel ban.
鈥淭he ban is good,鈥� Bastien said as he returned to Miami after visiting his home country. 鈥淭he United States want to know exactly what type of people are coming in this country. I don鈥檛 have any problem with that.鈥�
AP journalists D谩nica Coto in San Juan, Puerto Rico and Evens Sanon in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, contributed to this story.
