Mentioned in this article Games: Vainglory

U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive order on Friday regarding immigration—called a “Muslim Ban” by many—is already having a serious impact on the esports industry. Multiple players living abroad are facing the sudden realization that they can no longer enter the United States.

[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Esports is a global industry, and the free movement between countries is integral to the industry working.[/perfectpullquote]

GankStars’ co-owner and Vainglory player “IraqiZorro” is, as his handle suggests, from Iraq, and will be unable to move to the U.S. to compete in the North American premiere “Evil Eight” league as his team announced last week.

I think I’m still in the “shocked” phase, where I’m not able to fully comprehend yet that this is indeed our current reality… — IraqiZorro (@ElDonIraqiZorro) January 29, 2017

This has, in turn, caused Vainglory creator Super Evil Megacorp’s CEO Kristian Segerstrale to speak out against the executive order.

Elsewhere, top Smash Bros player Ramin “Mr. R” Delshad—an Dutch citizen born in Iran—received confirmation from the Dutch consulate that he will not be able to travel to the Unites States for the duration of the ban. Delshad placed fifth in the Genesis 4 Smash Bros. tournament just two weekends ago, which took place in San Jose, CA.

These are, of course, just the first few reports regarding the effects of the executive order—there will be more players discovering, like Delshad, that they can’t enter the U.S. in the coming weeks and months. But that belies the deeper impact that the order is having.

Esports is a global industry, and the free movement between countries is integral to the industry working. And while each country absolutely has a right to secure its borders, there’s significant doubt whether this order individually will have any significant impact on the security of the United States.

More importantly, the order could have a chilling effect on travel to the U.S. for esports-related reasons—that includes fans going to events. Major tournaments happening in the next few months in the U.S. include DreamHack Masters Las Vegas (Feb. 15-19) and potentially DreamHack Austin in late April.