The State Department says it will suspend the processing of immigrant visas for citizens of 75 countries whose nationals are deemed likely to require public assistance while living in the United States. The department said Wednesday it had 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. The suspension will not apply to applicants seeking non-immigrant, or temporary tourist or business, visas. The department says it's "bringing an end to the abuse of America's immigration system." The suspension begins Jan. 21.
The Trump administration has added seven countries, including five in Africa, to the list of nations whose passport holders are required to post bonds of up to $15,000 to apply for visas to enter the United States. Thirteen countries, all but two of them in Africa, are now on the list. It makes the process of obtaining a visa unaffordable for many but U.S. officials say it is an effective deterrent to prevent foreigners from overstaying their visas. The State Department last week quietly added Bhutan, Botswana, the Central African Republic, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Namibia and Turkmenistan to the list. Those designations took effect on Jan. 1. It's the latest effort by the Trump administration to tighten requirements for visa applicants.
The Trump administration is restricting the number of refugees admitted annually to the United States to 7,500 and they'll be mostly white South Africans. It's a dramatic drop after the U.S. previously allowed in hundreds of thousands of people fleeing war and persecution from around the world. The administration published the news in a notice on the Federal Register on Thursday. No reason was given for the numbers, which are a dramatic decrease from last year's ceiling of 125,000 set under the Biden administration. The memo stated that the admission of the 7,500 refugees during the 2026 budget year is "justified by humanitarian concerns or is otherwise in the national interest."
A U.S. Marine says his parents were detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials after they visited a California military base and one of them was later deported. Steve Rios, of Oceanside, California, told NBC that his parents were detained late last month while picking up his pregnant sister and her husband, who is also a Marine at Camp Pendleton. Rios says his parents came to the U.S. from Mexico three decades ago and had pending green card applications. He says they were initially released with ankle monitors. But after another visit to the base, ICE agents stopped them at the gate and detained his parents. Rios says his father has since been deported.
