The State Department announced on March 5 that it is imposing visa restrictions on foreign officials who facilitate illegal immigration into the United States.
The new policy will impact airport, port authority, customs, and immigration officials in other countries who “knowingly facilitate the transit of aliens intending to illegally immigrate into the United States via the U.S. southwest border,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement.
Officials who also fail “to enforce immigration laws” or establish policies that facilitate illegal immigration into the country will also be targeted, Rubio stated.
The policy will be added to a 2024 rule that impacts private sector officials who provide transportation and other travel services for illegal immigrants heading to the United States, according to his statement.
“These measures will continue until those officials take responsibility for ensuring there are policies in place and existing laws are enforced to prevent the transit of such individuals,” Rubio continued.
“America will not back down when it comes to defending our national security interests.”
Rubio’s statement was issued about a month after the Trump administration engaged in a high-profile dispute with Colombia’s government and president over allowing U.S. deportation flights to land in the South American country.
Amid an impasse over the flights, the Trump administration ordered tariffs and placed visa restrictions on top-level Colombian officials before an agreement was made between the United States and Colombia to resume deportation flights.
President Donald Trump wrote in late January that he ordered “A Travel Ban and immediate Visa Revocations” on Colombian government officials and others before the agreement was reached.
“All Party Members, Family Members, and Supporters of the Colombian Government,” Trump wrote, would have been subjected to “Visa Sanctions” as well.
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