Why Amal, George Clooney's wife, could soon be denied entry to the US

Several top British lawyers, including American actor George Clooney’s wife and human rights lawyer Amal Clooney, could soon face travel restrictions to the United States.

Amal lives in the US with her husband, George Clooney , and their twin daughters.

Notably, the UK Foreign Office has warned several senior barristers that they might be targeted with sanctions by the Donald Trump administration.

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But why? And what could stop Amal Clooney from entering the United States to visit the family’s homes in California and New York?

We explain the UK Foreign Office’s warning and what the sanctions mean for the lawyers, including Amal.

Why Amal Clooney could be barred from entering US

On April 25, the Financial Times reported that a group of senior British lawyers, including Amal Clooney, had been “warned” they could soon face US sanctions that may affect their entry to the US.

The concern, the report said, is linked to their work and advice for the International Criminal Court (ICC).

More specifically, it involves legal advice tied to the ICC’s investigation into what is happening in Israel and Gaza.

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order in February targeting ICC staff, their families, and others connected to the court. He accused the ICC of issuing “baseless” arrest warrants and responded with visa limits and financial measures.

According to Fox News, the order states: “The United States will impose tangible and significant consequences on those responsible for the ICC’s transgressions, some of which may include the blocking of property and assets, as well as the suspension of entry into the United States of ICC officials, employees, and agents, as well as their immediate family members.”

So far, only ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan has been named. Notably, Khan urged the court to issue arrest warrants for Israeli leaders Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant in May 2024.

Trump used the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 to sign the order. This law allows the president to freeze assets, stop people from entering the country, and block money transfers for anyone seen as “hostile to American interests”.

If Clooney is added to the list, the 47-year-old British human rights lawyer could be banned from entering the US.

Amal was born in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1978. Her family moved to the UK two years later during the Lebanese Civil War. She grew up in Buckinghamshire and later studied at Oxford and New York University.

She is qualified to practise law in both England and Wales and the US, after joining the New York bar in 2002.

She married George Clooney in September 2014. The couple live in the US with their twin children, Ella and Alexander, who are seven years old.

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ICC’s arrest warrants vs Trump’s executive order

In November 2024, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant.

The charges relate to alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity during Israel’s military action in Gaza. Both leaders have dismissed the accusations, calling them “absurd and false lies.”

The court also issued warrants for three Hamas leaders, all of whom are now dead. One of them was Mohammed Deif, Hamas’s military commander, who is believed to have played a major role in the October 7 attacks on southern Israel. The attack killed 1,200 people and led to 251 kidnappings.

Israel later confirmed it had killed Deif in a targeted operation in July.

Because Netanyahu and Gallant are now wanted by the ICC, they could be arrested in any of the 124 countries that have signed and ratified the Rome Statute, including the United Kingdom, France, and Austria.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump issued an executive order in February 2025 criticising the ICC’s actions. The order argued that since neither Israel nor the United States are members of the Rome Statute, the treaty that created the ICC, the court had no authority to issue what Trump called “baseless arrest warrants.”

Both countries signed the treaty in 2000 but never ratified it. However, Palestine ratified the agreement in 2015, meaning any crimes in Palestinian areas fall under the ICC’s legal reach.

International criminal lawyer Alexandro Maria Tirelli told People magazine there is a chance that British lawyers involved with the ICC could face US sanctions and warned that Amal Clooney and others may be barred from entering the country.

Tirelli also said that an executive order does not need a conviction or legal trial. In this case, deciding what counts as a “threat” lies entirely with the Trump administration.