Latest news with #PouriaAmirshahi
LeMonde
a day ago
- Politics
- LeMonde
French MP banned from entering the US
Was it because he was born in Iran? Or because he wanted to build a "progressive international," an alliance to counter "the rise of reactionary neofascism"? On Tuesday, June 17, a French MP, Pouria Amirshahi, learned that he had been banned from entering the United States, where he had planned to go and meet with lawmakers, civil society figures, and intellectuals. "This is the first time in 240 years of relations between our two countries that a parlementarian has been refused entry to the United States," said Amirshahi, expressing indignation and concern over the reasons behind the decision to ban him. The Green MP had, moreover, previously traveled to the US three times between 2000 and 2013: first as a tourist, then as a cultural director and national secretary of the Parti Socialiste, and finally, during his last term as an MP, when he was still a Socialist. The situation seemed problematic from the start: First, his application for an Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA), the standard online authorization required for entering the US, was denied. He then tried to go through the standard visa application process. At the US embassy, he explained the reason for his trip: To observe what had changed since Donald Trump was elected president, by meeting several local stakeholders.
New York Times
a day ago
- Politics
- New York Times
French Lawmaker Says He Was Denied Entry Into the United States
A French member of Parliament has urged American authorities to reverse a decision to deny him entry to the United States, after he said they rejected his request for a visa to meet with progressive lawmakers and intellectuals about life under the Trump presidency. Pouria Amirshahi, a member of the Green party, said he had planned to travel to Washington D.C., New York and Boston this month. The trip was supposed to be the first taken by a member of La Digue, or The Dike, a group that he created a month ago with a handful of other leftist and centrist French lawmakers, to 'counter the spread of neo-fascism' in liberal democracies. At a news conference at the French National Assembly on Thursday morning, Mr. Amirshahi said he had told U.S. authorities that the purpose of his trip was to ask lawmakers, activists, professors and journalists to understand 'what the new situation was in the country since Mr. Trump came to power.' He was set to meet with progressive lawmakers, he said, including Senator Peter Welch, Democrat of Vermont, and Representative Maxine Dexter, Democrat of Oregon. But, he said, on Tuesday, he was told that his visa application had been rejected. 'The door was shut in a rather abrupt and unexpected manner,' Mr. Amirshahi said in a telephone interview. 'This is a decision that we consider to be both hostile and unfriendly.' A member of his team said later on Thursday that the embassy was 'reconsidering the reasons for the refusal.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
