Trump to withhold visas from countries that do not repatriate their citizens

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump has threatened to withhold visas for people from countries that do not quickly repatriate their citizens from the US due to concerns over coronavirus.

In a memo sent out to the State Department as well as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the president asked the DHS secretary to notify the Secretary of State if any government denies or delays “the acceptance of aliens who are citizens, subjects, nationals, or residents of that country after being asked to accept those aliens, and if such denial or delay is impeding operations of the Department of Homeland Security necessary to respond” to the pandemic.

Within seven days of notification, the State Department will then initiate a plan to impose visa sanctions under an executive order Trump signed in January. Those sanctions can be repealed if DHS deems the targeted country has resumed accepting people “without unreasonable delay.”

“Countries that deny or unreasonably delay the acceptance of their citizens, subjects, nationals, or residents from the United States during the ongoing pandemic … create unacceptable public health risks for Americans,” the president said in the memo adding, “The United States must be able to effectuate the repatriation of foreign nationals who violate the laws of the United States.”