(NewsNation) — The State Department has instituted a new policy restricting visas for foreign government officials who are believed to help illegal immigration into the U.S.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the policy on X with: “America will not back down when it comes to defending its national security interest.”
The State Department policy will apply to foreign government officials, including immigration officials, who are “believed to be responsible for knowingly facilitating illegal immigration to the United States, including through failure to enforce immigration laws or establishing and implementing policies and practices that knowingly facilitate the transit of aliens intending to illegally immigrate into the United States via the U.S. southwest border.”
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President Donald Trump has said in the past that Mexico has not done enough to stop people from entering the U.S. without authorization.
The announcement is part of ongoing efforts by the administration to enact harsher immigration policies and conduct mass deportations of people who do not have documentation.
The Trump administration has sparred with countries that have resisted allowing deportation flights, turning to threats of tariffs to pressure foreign leaders into complying with his demands.
It’s not clear which countries or officials may be targeted by the new policy.
