The Trump administration’s State Department is imposing a series of visa restrictions on “executives at Uzbekistan-based companies who knowingly facilitated illegal immigration to the United States by coordinating transportation for illegal immigrants, including minors, through Central America,” the Washington Reporter can exclusively confirm.
“The Government of Uzbekistan’s close cooperation in shutting down these criminal networks is vital to our shared commitment to combating human smuggling and protecting our national security,” a State Department official told the Reporter.
The move, a foreign policy expert told the Reporter, is part of the Trump administration’s moves to “Make Visa Restrictions Great Again,” and it specifically targets senior executives at two Uzbekistan-based visa facilitation companies who the State Department found to have “knowingly provided travel services designed primarily for aliens intending to illegally immigrate to the United States.”
The Marco Rubio-led State Department is enacting the restrictions under Section 212(a)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA); that provision is used to prevent foreigners from entering America whose actions can have “potentially serious adverse U.S. foreign policy consequences,” the State Department noted.
These measures taken came following State Department investigations that found that Uzbekistani businesses and individuals “actively coordinated transportation for aliens, including minors, intending to illegally immigrate to the United States through airports and across borders to transit points in Central America, where many were later encountered attempting to enter the United States illegally.”
Rubio’s anti-human trafficking moves come directly after his trip to Europe, in which he was warmly welcomed by European leaders from across the political spectrum. During his remarks at the Munich Security Conference, Rubio appealed to the common history that unites both America and its European partners, further cementing his status as one of President Donald Trump’s global surrogates.
“The United States will not tolerate any attempts to undermine our national security or immigration laws,” the State Department explained following the restriction issuance. “The Department will ensure those who profit from illegal immigration face consequences, and we will aggressively target smuggling networks to protect our borders and national security. The United States reaffirms its deep appreciation to the Government of Uzbekistan for its close cooperation to shut down the criminal networks that facilitate illegal immigration to the United States.”
