Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced a new visa restriction policy Wednesday for foreign government officials accused of “knowingly facilitating illegal immigration” to the United States.
The policy is aimed at officials in other countries, including immigration and customs, airport and port authority officials, who are believed to be aiding migrants bound for the U.S. border.
“Securing our nation’s borders is critically important to making America safer, stronger, and more prosperous,” Rubio said in a statement. “Countries along migratory routes must do their part to prevent and deter the transit of aliens seeking to illegally enter the United States.”
The new policy underscores the Trump administration’s commitment to border security and ending illegal immigration, which the president pledged to do while on the campaign trail.
According to the State Department, the new visa restriction policy will “complement” the existing 3C policy, expanded in 2024, which penalizes individuals in the private sector who “knowingly provide transportation and travel services designed primarily for illegal aliens traveling to the United States.”
Foreign officials who fail to enforce immigration laws or halt illegal transit will now be ineligible for visas under a section of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
The statute authorizes the secretary of State to bar entry to individuals whose presence “would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.” Certain family members of targeted officials may also be affected by the restrictions.
“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 said. “America will not back down when it comes to defending our national security interests.”
The announcement comes as the new Trump administration works to undo the lax immigration policies of the previous Biden administration, which have been blamed for record levels of illegal border crossings. In fiscal year 2024 alone, Customs and Border Protection reported more than 1.5 million migrant encounters.
Critics of immigration enforcement in Central and South American countries like Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico have argued that widespread corruption and collusion between foreign officials and human traffickers have allowed such networks to flourish. By holding individual officials accountable, the visa restrictions seek to stymie the system.
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