The British distance runner, who was born in Somalia and currently is training in Ethiopia for his next race, fears he could be prevented from heading home to his family in Portland, Ore.
Trump says the executive order signed Friday was made in an effort “to keep radical Islamic terrorists out” of the country. The order prevents citizens of Muslim-majority countries Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Yemen and Somalia from entering the country for 90 days.
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While Farah is a British citizen and does not have dual nationality or hold a Somalian passport, he could still be affected by the ban because he was born in Somalia before moving to the UK at 8 years old.
Farah’s full statement, via his Facebook page:
“On 1st January this year, Her Majesty The Queen made me a Knight of the Realm. On 27th January, President Donald Trump seems to have made me an alien.
“I am a British citizen who has lived in America for the past six years — working hard, contributing to society, paying my taxes and bringing up our four children in the place they now call home. Now, me and many others like me are being told that we may not be welcome. It’s deeply troubling that I will have to tell my children that Daddy might not be able to come home — to explain why the President has introduced a policy that comes from a place of ignorance and prejudice.
“I was welcomed into Britain from Somalia at eight years old and given the chance to succeed and realise my dreams. I have been proud to represent my country, win medals for the British people and receive the greatest honour of a knighthood. My story is an example of what can happen when you follow polices of compassion and understanding, not hate and isolation.”
Farah won the 5,000 and 10,000 meters at both the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games, becoming only the second man in Olympic history to defend both of those titles.
He and British tennis star Andy Murray recently were given a knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II.
