Trump Slams the Brakes on Immigrant Visa Applications Worldwide

The Trump administration just hit the brakes on immigrant visas — all of them.

The State Department says the temporary halt is necessary for “in-depth training” so that consular officers can “evaluate every visa applicant comprehensively and consistently.”

The news broke late Tuesday night, and left-wing publications like The Guardian were not happy.

All US immigrant visa applications have been paused by the Trump administration as the state department moves to tighten restrictions and limit access to applicants who they deem could end up relying on US assistance, a state department official confirmed Tuesday.
The agency launched the initiative at all embassies and consulates in early August, according to the official and visa appointments had to be adjusted to accommodate “in-depth training”, according to the official. The state department has been working on updated guidance and training since early this year, “to ensure all consular officers are fully equipped to evaluate every visa applicant comprehensively and consistently”, they added.
The Financial Times reports that applicants with interviews already scheduled were sent emails that their appointments had been canceled and that they would be informed of a new date and time.
The initiative began at U.S. embassies and consulates earlier this month, according to a State Department official. Applicants who already had interviews scheduled have reportedly received emails telling them their appointments were canceled and that they'll have to wait for a new date.

Trump earlier ordered visa applications be halted from 75 countries that failed the “30 percent” public-charge basis for its immigrants, only for an activist judge to block the policy. As earlier reported:

A Biden-appointed federal judge has struck down the Trump administration’s suspension of immigrant visas for foreign nationals of 75 countries, handing immigration activists another victory against President Trump’s effort to slam the brakes on mass immigration.
And once again, a law passed more than 60 years ago — the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, better known as the Hart-Celler Act — is a specter still haunting America’s broken immigration system.
At the heart of the case is the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC), a “religious” organization that has gotten into the legalized human trafficking racket.
U.S. District Judge Jeannette Vargas of the Southern District of New York ruled that Secretary of State Marco Rubio exceeded his statutory authority when the State Department ordered consular officers to stop issuing immigrant visas to nationals of 75 countries while the administration reviewed public-charge risks.

So now, rather than simply fighting over that list of countries, the administration is pausing visa application processing and retraining consular officers throughout the system.

In other words, the Trump administration wants to shut visa application processing down using administrative oversight rather than official policies while the legal battle rages on.

And one of the biggest questions is whether the prospective immigrant is likely to become a “public charge” — government-speak for somebody who could wind up dependent on taxpayer-funded assistance.

There have been other recent developments on the immigration front that show that Trump is dead serious about shutting the immigration revolving door.

The Trump administration is also moving on another immigration front this week, announcing plans to revoke visas from asylum seekers who originally entered the United States as tourists or business travelers. The move could affect as many as 200,000 people and, if carried out at that scale, would amount to the largest mass visa revocation in U.S. history. The State Department is coordinating the effort with the Department of Homeland Security.

The administration has steadily tightened the visa process in other ways as well. Applicants now face additional scrutiny, including reviews of their social media histories, along with higher processing costs, according to the Associated Press.

Millions of Americans are not thrilled about the massive numbers of foreigners still pouring into the country, when they thought electing Trump would put a stop to it all.

While the Biden administration was notorious for simply opening up the borders, the presidency's shadow cabal installed a system to ensure the legal apparatus for mass immigration kept humming along, even if those borders were to be shut down by a successor president.

It looks like President Trump got the message loud and clear: It's time to shut it down. Shut it down, now.

Editor’s Note: Republicans are fighting for election integrity by requiring proper identification to vote. It's common sense, yet Democrats are spreading lies about the impact of such a measure.

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