Martina Navratilova was left shocked after finding out a major change introduced by the Donald Trump administration’s new One Big Beautiful Bill Act, a controversial act that was signed into law on July 4. According to the law, US travellers who are entering the US on non-immigrant visas will have to pay a $250 ‘visa integrity fee’ added to their bill.
As reported, the charge will go to the US Treasury Department’s general fund. However, experts have slammed the additional charge, sharing their worry that this will curtail tourism development in the country.
On social media, news of the visa integrity charge went viral, with one user calling out the US President for jeopardizing one of the biggest industries in the country by making it less accessible to tourists.
“The US tourism industry is worth $2.9 trillion and supports more than 15 million American jobs. Trump is a f**king idiot!” the user wrote on X.
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Navratilova seemed to agree with the opinion, quoting the original post and sharing her disdain of the new ruling.
"This is stupid..." Navratilova wrote.
The 18-time Grand Slam champion has not shied away from opposing the Trump administration on policies she feels are not benefiicial to the public. Another policy change the American recently called out was a proposal made to gun laws in the country, wherein the Department of Justice wanted to grant gun rights to millions of people currently denied the ownership of firearms.
"This is such a bad idea. More women will die thanks to this change. So irresponsible and wrong," Navratilova wrote on X.
Navratilova, who escaped Czechoslovakia to immigrate into the USA, has since stated that she would not have done so if Donald Trump had been the President back then, boldly stating that the country is not a democracy under him.
"If I were now still in that same position [as in 1975] and I had to go live somewhere, it would not be America, because it's not a democracy at the moment," she said in an interview with the BBC in June.
Martina Navratilova slammed anti-immigrant policies followed by Donald Trump administration
In the aforementioned interview, Martina Navratilova further called out Donald Trump and his administration for their poor treatment of immigrants, saying:
"I mean, people are getting chucked out by Homeland Security, they're getting chucked out because they're not on board completely with Donald Trump's agenda… because they're not kissing the ring."
Concerningly, the American legend was not even sure whether she would keep her own citizenship in the current political climate.
"Everything is up in the air right now, and that's the whole point. Everybody's walking on eggshells, not knowing what's going to happen," she said.
Navratilova is married to actress Julie Lemigova, and the pair recently adopted two children.
