On January 14, the Trump State Department suspended immigrant visa processing from 75 nations.
The suspension can potentially upend lives, as it suspends all immigrant visas, “such as those for employment or to join family in the US.”
The State Department provided its justification for the suspensions:
“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,” State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said in a statement Wednesday.
“Immigrant visa processing 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,” he said.
CNN Politics
Pigott is lying. Not only are immigrants not a drain, but, according to the right-leaning Cato Institute, “immigrants have paid more in taxes than they received in benefits from the federal, state, and local governments. The fiscal benefits have continued to rise, reaching their highest level ever in 2023.”
The suspension impacts United States partners and allies, including Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Brazil, Columbia, Jordan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Nigeria, and Thailand. The full list of countries are as follows:
- Afghanistan
- Albania
- Algeria
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Armenia
- Azerbaijan
- Bahamas
- Bangladesh
- Barbados
- Belarus
- Belize
- Bhutan
- Bosnia-Herzegovina
- Brazil
- Cambodia
- Cameroon
- Cape Verde
- Colombia
- Cuba
- Dominica
- DR Congo
- Egypt
- Eritrea
- Ethiopia
- Fiji
- Gambia
- Georgia
- Ghana
- Grenada
- Guatemala
- Guinea
- Haiti
- Iran
- Iraq
- Ivory Coast
- Jamaica
- Jordan
- Kazakhstan
- Kosovo
- Kuwait
- Kyrgyzstan
- Laos
- Lebanon
- Liberia
- Libya
- Moldova
- Mongolia
- Montenegro
- Morocco
- Myanmar
- Nepal
- Nicaragua
- Nigeria
- North Macedonia
- Pakistan
- Republic of Congo
- Russia
- Rwanda
- Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Saint Lucia
- Senegal
- Sierra Leone
- Somalia
- South Sudan
- St. Vincent and the Grenadines
- Sudan
- Syria
- Tanzania
- Thailand
- Togo
- Tunisia
- Uganda
- Uruguay
- Uzbekistan
- Yemen
