Donald Trump has put a halt on visa processing for 75 nations, which include Russia and Iran, amidst threats of military action against Iran’s leadership.
In a confidential directive issued by the State Department on Wednesday, consular offices were instructed to withhold visas as the administration reassesses its screening and vetting strategies.
This directive impacts countries such as Afghanistan, Brazil, Iraq, and Somalia. Somalia, in particular, is under scrutiny following allegations of significant fraud involving its community in Minnesota.
While it’s uncertain if this decision is directly connected to military plans concerning Iran, it does coincide with Trump’s warnings of military retaliation against the Islamic regime following a violent crackdown that has reportedly resulted in over 2,500 protester deaths.
The State Department plans to enforce this indefinite visa suspension starting January 21.
Additionally, the memo instructs consular officers to decline visas for individuals likely to depend on public assistance after arriving in the United States.
Officers are also instructed to weigh a variety of factors for applicants, including health, age, and English proficiency.
‘The State Department will use its long-standing authority to deem ineligible potential immigrants who would become a public charge on the United States and exploit the generosity of the American people,’ spokesman Tommy Piggott said.
The Iranian regime have brutally cracked down on protesters
Trump has threaten military action against Iran for killing protesters
‘Immigration from these 75 countries will be paused while the State Department reassess immigration processing procedures to prevent the entry of foreign nationals who would take welfare and public benefits.’
‘President Trump is putting America First, and all of his actions are guided by what is best for the American people – not foreign nationals,’ White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly told the Daily Mail. ‘The President is rightfully taking action to ensure that aliens admitted to United States are not abusing public assistance programs intended to serve American citizens.’
The department will also provide exceptions for some visa applications under the new pause but it will be ‘very limited.’
Trump’s immigration crackdown is facing a backlash after an ICE agent shot dead American citizen Renee Good in Minneapolis last week.
Good, 37, drove her car at the agent as officers attempted to arrest her for blocking a road during a protest against Trump’s migrant raids.
Trump last night spoke out on the shooting, suggesting that his predecessor Joe Biden was to blame for allowing so many illegals to enter the US.
‘The bottom line is we have hundreds of thousands of murderers in our country, killers,’ the president told CBS.
‘They were let in through an open border policy of Sleepy Joe Biden. ICE is working very hard to get them out, their job is being made very, very difficult.’
In the same interview he promised to take ‘strong action’ against Iran if Ayatollah Ali Khamenei goes forward with hangings on Wednesday.
Protesters set fire to makeshift barricades near a religious center on January 10
Trump is said to have been briefed in recent days about his options, including strikes on nonmilitary sites in Tehran.
Desperate families of relatives who have been persecuted by the Iranian regime amid the uprising have called on Trump to intervene.
Already, a bloody security force crackdown on the protests has killed at least 2,571, the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reported.
Trump told CBS News: ‘If they [Iran] hang them, you’re going to see something’.
But Iran ignored Trump’s threats and vowed to fast-track executions after detaining 18,000 protesters as the regime continues its brutal crackdown.
The head of Iran’s judiciary, Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei, signaled Wednesday that there would be fast trials and executions ahead for those detained, saying: ‘If a person burned someone, beheaded someone and set them on fire then we must do our work quickly.’
The US ordered the evacuation of air bases in the region, including an unspecified number from a site in Qatar by Wednesday evening.
Al Udeid, the largest American base in the Middle East, houses 10,000 troops and was targeted by Iran in June in retaliation for US strikes on its nuclear facilities.
