Amal Clooney, top UK barristers could face US entry ban Under Potential Trump Sanctions

Human rights barrister Amal Clooney and several leading British lawyers may be barred from entering the United States under possible sanctions reportedly being considered by Donald Trump.

The UK Foreign Office has warned senior legal figures of possible penalties for advising the ICC in its war crimes probe into Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and ex-Defence Minister Gallant, Caliber.Az reports per foreign media. 

Clooney, 47, a British citizen who shares a US property with her husband, actor George Clooney, and their seven-year-old twins Ella and Alexander, could be among those affected. She is qualified to practise law in both the United States, having been admitted to the New York Bar in 2002, and in England and Wales.

In February 2025, Trump issued Executive Order 14203, “Imposing Sanctions on the International Criminal Court”, which cited British lawyer and ICC prosecutor Karim Khan. Khan was the first legal professional named in connection with US sanctions over this case.

The executive order—citing the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977, the National Emergencies Act of 1976, and the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952—grants the president powers to freeze assets, restrict travel, and block economic activity involving individuals deemed “hostile to American interests.”

Trump’s order described the ICC’s actions as an “abuse of power” for issuing “baseless arrest warrants” against Israeli leaders. Israel and the United States have signed, but never ratified, the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC. Palestine ratified the treaty in 2015, giving the court jurisdiction over alleged crimes committed in the Palestinian territories.

In November 2024, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity during Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. The court also issued warrants against three now-deceased leaders of Hamas. Israeli officials have dismissed the charges as “absurd and false lies.”

International criminal lawyer Alexandro Maria Tirelli said that there is a strong possibility the US could sanction UK lawyers over their legal roles in the ICC case. Should such sanctions be imposed, those targeted would face immediate consequences, including a ban on entering the US and potential asset freezes.

Tirelli explained that executive orders such as this one do not require criminal convictions or judicial oversight. “The proof of what constitutes a ‘threat’ in this case would be at the discretion of the Trump administration,” he said. He also noted that “there is no record of past US sanctions against foreign lawyers purely for the exercise of professional legal functions.”

Those affected would have limited options for redress. “There is no way to appeal an executive order,” Tirelli said. Lawyers subjected to such sanctions would have to file a lawsuit in a federal court, possibly arguing violations of due process, executive overreach, or infringement of professional rights. However, the process could take anywhere from six months to two years, during which the sanctions would remain in place.

Legal experts have pointed out that such sanctions would appear to contravene the United Nations Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers (1990), which state that governments must ensure legal professionals can “perform all of their professional functions without intimidation, hindrance, harassment or improper interference” and that they “shall not suffer, or be threatened with, prosecution or administrative, economic or other sanctions” for carrying out duties following professional standards and ethics.

In March 2025, when Trump instructed Attorney General Pam Bondi to consider sanctions against judges and legal teams involved in cases opposing his administration, the American Bar Association issued a strong rebuke. “We reject efforts to undermine the courts and the profession,” the ABA said. “We will not stay silent in the face of efforts to remake the legal profession into something that rewards those who agree with the government and punishes those who do not.”

Representatives for Amal Clooney and her legal chambers have declined to comment on the reports. George Clooney’s spokesperson has also not responded. 

By Aghakazim Guliyev