U.S. Freezes Visas to 75 Countries

Read the leaked diplomatic cable

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and President Trump

In the latest sign of the sheer scale of the administration’s war on immigration, the State Department has moved to pause all immigrant visa issuances for applicants from 75 different of countries, according to a U.S. diplomatic cable leaked to me.

That’s over one-third of the total number of countries in existence (193)!

Effective January 21, the directive was signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio earlier today. Citing the Immigration and Nationality Act, the order claims concerns over immigrants being “financially self-sufficient” as the supposed reason for the freeze.

“President Trump has made clear that immigrants must be financially self-sufficient to protect public benefits for American citizens,” the cable reads. “Applicants from these countries are at a high risk for becoming a public charge and recourse to local, state, and federal government resources in the United States.”

The nationalities affected include:

Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Bhutan, Bosnia, Brazil, Burma, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Colombia, Cote d’Ivoire, Cuba, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dominica, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, The Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Republic of the Congo, Russia, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, and Yemen

I’ve enclosed a screenshot of the diplomatic cable below.