Trump administration expands visa restrictions in Western Hemisphere

The Trump administration on Thursday announced a “significant expansion” of its visa restriction policy in the Western Hemisphere, targeting people working on behalf of America’s adversaries.

In its statement, the State Department said the expanded policy allows it to restrict U.S. visas for individuals intentionally acting on behalf of adversary countries to “harm America’s interests.”

“President Trump’s national security strategy is clear: This administration will deny adversarial powers the ability to possess or control vital assets or threaten the security and prosperity of the United States in our region,” the department said in a press release. “The Department of State works to advance American leadership in our hemisphere, protect our homeland, and ensure access to vital roads and areas throughout our region.”

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Marco Rubio with passports in view; The Department of State has implemented updated screening procedures for visa applicants. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images/istock) (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

“To support this critical objective, the Department of State is announcing a significant expansion of an existing visa restriction policy that targets those who work on behalf of America’s adversaries to undermine our national interests in our hemisphere, including regional security and democratic sovereignty,” the department continued.

The administration also said that family members of individuals subject to visa restrictions under this policy will not be allowed to enter the United States.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, and U.S. President Donald Trump during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, U.S., Thursday, January 29, 2026. (Aaron Schwartz/CNP/Bloomberg)

“This expanded policy allows us to restrict U.S. visas for nationals of countries in our region who, while in countries in the Western Hemisphere and while intentionally acting on behalf of adversary countries, their agents or businesses, direct, authorize, finance, or provide significant support, or engage in activities that are contrary to and detrimental to U.S. interests in our hemisphere. These individuals – and their immediate family members – will generally not be eligible for entry into the United States,” a statement said. declared the ministry.

Activities that the administration has deemed contradictory and that could trigger visa restrictions include allowing adversary powers to acquire or control key assets and strategic resources in the Western Hemisphere, destabilizing regional security efforts, harming U.S. economic interests, and conducting influence operations intended to weaken the sovereignty and stability of nations in the region.

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U.S. passports are arranged for a photograph in New York, U.S., Tuesday, April 23, 2013. A legal challenge by federal immigration officials seeking to block President Barack Obama’s deferred deportation initiative will likely succeed, a judge said. (Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg)

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The ministry said it had imposed visa restrictions on 26 people under the policy.

“To demonstrate our commitment to this expanded policy, we have taken steps to impose visa restrictions on 26 individuals across our hemisphere who have engaged in these activities,” the ministry said. “The Trump Administration will use every tool available to protect our national security interests, defend American interests, and promote the security and prosperity of our region.”

It follows a series of steps the administration has taken in recent months to restrict visas for people around the world, including a visa ban on people from dozens of countries listed by the State Department, which civil rights groups have already sharply criticized.

Critics, including civil rights advocates, have raised concerns about similar visa restriction policies, saying broad definitions of prohibited activities can raise questions about how individuals are identified and what legal protections are available.

“This administration’s targeting of people based on their national origin is part of an autocratic plan designed to shrink America — to exclude ideas, perspectives and communities,” Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, said in a statement earlier this year about the suspension of immigration visa processing for people from about 75 countries.