The United States has suspended immigration visa appointments at embassies and consulates worldwide: this is a further crackdown on immigration implemented by Donald Trump in his second term, following violent actions by ICE agents, deportations, and the attempt to block arrivals from unwelcome countries or those considered at risk due to the presence of terrorists.
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The US State Department announced yesterday that a “global training initiative at all US embassies and consulates worldwide” has been launched and that appointments for visa services will be rescheduled to allow for this training: the objective – it explained – is to achieve “thorough and consistent controls” that identify “foreign applicants who may become dependent on US public assistance.”
“Ensuring greater prosperity for Americans means ensuring that visa applicants do not risk becoming a burden on the state, as defined by US laws and regulations, and that they do not risk becoming dependent on US social benefits reserved for eligible Americans in need,” a State Department spokesperson said in an email also sent to American media, after the Financial Times had reported the appointment blockage.
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Trump is insisting on an aggressive policy of expulsions and immigration restrictions, which includes the revocation of visas and green cards and the rejection of applications for various reasons, such as political opinions and participation in demonstrations for the Palestinian people or against the military offensive in Gaza conducted by Israel, an ally of the United States.
The White House announced on social media in recent days a plan to revoke up to 200,000 visas for foreign nationals living in the United States, in what it called “the largest operation against irregular visas in US history.” The State Department and the Department of Homeland Security – which oversees ICE agents – are collaborating to cancel visas for foreigners who arrived in the US for tourism or business for a short period and subsequently applied for asylum. “Obtaining a visa for the purpose of seeking asylum constitutes fraud, sufficient reason for the revocation of the visa itself. We want to make it clear that a visa is a privilege, not a right,” the State Department said in a statement, emphasizing that it had “already revoked over 175,000 visas for foreign nationals” during Trump’s second term.
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