Presidential Decrees & Iran War Chaos Cause International Artists to Miss San Francisco Festival

San Francisco International Arts Festival(SFIAF) today announced that three international dance artists were no longer going to participate in this year’s program. The three, Mufutau Yusuf(Republic of Ireland/Nigeria), Kôdrô Aoussou Evry (Germany/Ivory Coast) and Kalakshetra Reshma Rajeev(India) have all been forced to withdraw for reasons related to Donald Trump’s Presidential Decrees and his illegal war on Iran.

When Trump issued Presidential Proclamation 10998 in December 2025, banning individuals from 19 countries, the order specifically exempted dual nationals that also held citizenship in countries not on the banned list.

However, United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) one of the departments implementing the ban, subsequently took it upon itself to issue Policy Memo 0194 that placed an indefinite hold on processing all visa petitions filed by or on behalf of foreign nationals who are “from” countries listed in PP10998, whether by passport or country of birth. Simply put, the USCIS policy memo issued in conjunction with PP10998 is not recognizing and exempting dual nationalswho have passports from non-banned/restricted countries, even though PP10998 specifically exempts these dual nationals from the restriction.

Mufutau Yusuf is a dual national Irish / Nigerian citizen, based in the Republic of Ireland. Further, his artistic work is deemed of such a high standard that it merits the support of the Irish government and his international tours represent the country’s multicultural and multi-racial identity.

The petition for his company to perform in the United States was filed using Mufutau’s Irish passport denoting his Irish citizenship. But when the situation regarding Mufutau’s petition and 0194 started to become apparent, even the intervention of Senate Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer could not help before the clock on the tour ran out; they were to have performed at the Irish Arts Center in New York before coming to San Francisco.

Festival director, Andrew Wood noted, “According to PP10998, the petition should not have been paused. But in Trump world these days, it seems it is okay for federal departments to out-Trump Trump, provided the positions they take are even more overtly racist than his.”

When the impact of 0194 became clear, Kôdrô Aoussou Evry who has both German and Ivory Coast citizenship, withdrew from her collaborative project with Bay Area based choreographer and dancer, Byb Chanel Bibene,

Similarly, Kalakshetra Reshma Rajeev planned to travel to the United States to collaborate with Bay Area based choreographer and dancer Nikitha Sreekant.

However, Ms. Rajeev uses an Indian diplomatic “White” passport. When the American and Israeli governments started bombing Iran, the Indian government ordered its diplomatic passport holders not to travel to the United States citing safety reasons. A two-week ceasefire has not changed the Indian government’s position.

Festival director, Wood stated, “We apologize to everyone who purchased tickets and eagerly anticipated witnessing these artists at the festival this year. Their absence is deeply felt. Their work reflects the global exchange of culture and ideas that defines SFIAF. We remain committed to presenting an inclusive and dynamic festival experience, even as we navigate these treacherous and unpredictable political waters.”

Despite these challenges, the festival will proceed as scheduled with other performances. Organizers noted that collaborative works will be adapted to reflect the changes in artist participation while preserving the integrity and spirit of the program.

The San Francisco International Arts Festival continues to showcase a diverse lineup of local and international artists across music, theater, dance and multidisciplinary performance throughout venues in San Francisco’s Mission District.

Main Image:  No longer participating artists. From left to right  Kalakshetra Reshma Rajeev(India)  Mufutau Yusuf(Republic of Ireland/Nigeria), Kôdrô Aoussou Evry (Germany/Ivory Coast) - Images are courtesy of SF International Festival.