Travel Bans for Political Speech

State revocation of entry permissions (ETAs/visas) is being used as a blunt instrument to exclude foreign commentators whose views are politically unwelcome, without criminal charges or transparent due process. When paired with lax enforcement against real security threats, such bans create a visible two‑tier public order where speech critical of incumbent elites is singled out for exclusion. — If governments normalize travel bans to silence political critics, democracies will see an erosion of cross‑border debate, a new lever of political censorship, and a precedent that foreign actors can weaponize against domestic pluralism.