Politics
Trump Takes Historic Action Cracking Down On Immigration
The U.S. State Department on Wednesday moved to suspend immigrant visas from 75 countries, marking a significant expansion of President Donald Trump’s travel ban and crackdown on public welfare abuse.
The measure targets immigrant visas, which are for individuals seeking permanent residency in the United States, typically through family sponsorship or employment-based pathways. Non-immigrant visas, including those for tourists, students, temporary workers, and visitors attending events like the FIFA World Cup, remain unaffected.
In addition, the suspension will apply to consular processing at U.S. embassies and consulates abroad. It will not impact individuals already in the U.S. or those with pending applications before the effective date.
Many of the affected nations have already been targeted by wider travel bans, including Afghanistan, Syria, Myanmar, Iran and other nations with internal security issues or adversarial governments to the United States. The latest announcement will apply to a wider range of countries across the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, as well as Russia, Kosovo and a handful of additional nations across Eurasia, the Caribbean and North
America.
The primary reason for the suspension is to reassess visa processing procedures under the “public charge” rule, which evaluates whether applicants are likely to rely on government assistance programs such as welfare, food stamps, or housing subsidies upon arrival in the U.S.
“The State Department will pause immigrant visa processing from 75 countries whose migrants take welfare from the American people at unacceptable rates. The freeze will remain active until the U.S. can ensure that new immigrants will not extract wealth from the American people,” the department posted on X.
In an additional statement, Secretary of State Marco Rubio explained that the policy is aimed at cracking down on public benefits going to foreigners. “Immigrant visa processing from these 75 countries will be paused while the State Department reassesses immigration processing procedures to prevent the entry of foreign nationals who would take welfare and public benefits,” he said.
“We have instructed consular officers to halt immigrant visa applications from the countries affected in accordance with a broader order issued in November that tightened rules around potential immigrants who might become ‘public charges’ in the U.S,” he added.
The Trump administration previously implemented similar restrictions during its first term, and in November 2025, it issued an executive order expanding scrutiny on applicants’ potential use of public benefits. The current pause builds on that directive, directing increased vetting and halting processing until new guidelines are established.
Heightened immigration scrutiny had already been applied to nations with high rates of immigrants seeking public assistance in the U.S.
