Immigration policy as foreign policy
The State Department’s visa expansion policy announcement cited the Trump Administration’s authority under the Immigration and Nationality Act, which says the entry of foreign nationals can be restricted if the Secretary of State has reasonable ground to believe it “would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences” for the U.S.
The President has, since his return to the White House, implemented a harsh anti-immigrant agenda, but he has wielded immigration tools as a foreign and domestic policy lever.
In July, the Administration revoked the visas of Brazilian judge Alexandre de Moraes and his allies, whom it accused of conducting a “political witch hunt” against Trump ally Jair Bolsonaro.
And in September, the State Department said it will revoke the visa of Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro, who commonly clashes with Trump, after he urged U.S. soldiers to disobey Trump’s orders, in protest of the U.S.’s role in the war in Gaza. Petro visited Washington earlier this year using a special visa, though the Colombian leader claimed his visa was “reinstated” until the end of his term in August.
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