Rep. Chip Roy Introduces PAUSE Act to Stop Immigration
Republican Congressman Chip Roy discusses the alarming visa fraud scheme involving 10 Indian nationals who staged armed robberies to exploit immigration laws. Roy introduces the PAUSE Act to temporarily halt all immigration, citing the largest number of foreign-born residents in US history. He criticizes the Senate for stalling the Save America Act and advocates for immediate legislative action to reform the immigration system amid growing concerns about foreign nationals.
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The Trump administration on Thursday announced a “significant expansion” of its visa restriction policy in the Western Hemisphere, targeting people working on behalf of American adversaries.
In its announcement, the State Department said the expanded policy allows it to restrict U.S. visas for people who intentionally act on behalf of adversary countries to “undermine U.S. interests.”
“President Trump's National Security Strategy makes clear: this Administration will deny adversary 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 news release. “The State Department is working to advance American leadership in our hemisphere, protect our homeland, and ensure access to vital routes and areas throughout our region.”
RUBIO IDENTIFIES 'THE MOST SERIOUS THREAT' TO THE US FROM THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE
Marco Rubio with passports in sight; The State Department has introduced updated background investigation procedures for visa applicants. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images/istock) (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
“In support of this critical goal, the State Department 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 people subject to visa restrictions under this policy will not be allowed to enter the US.
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, Jan. 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 located within countries of the Western Hemisphere and while intentionally acting on behalf of adversary countries, their agents or companies, direct, authorize, finance, provide significant support to, or carry out activities that are adverse to and undermine the interests of the United States in our hemisphere. These individuals, and their immediate family members, will generally be ineligible to enter the United States,” the department said.
Activities that the administration has deemed problematic 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, undermining U.S. economic interests, and conducting influence operations designed to weaken the sovereignty and stability of nations in the region.
STATE DEPARTMENT WILL REQUEST BONUSES OF UP TO $15,000 FOR VISA APPLICATIONS FROM A DOZEN MORE COUNTRIES
U.S. passports are prepared for a photo in New York, the United States, Tuesday, April 23, 2013. A court challenge by federal immigration agents seeking to block President Barack Obama's deferred deportation initiative will likely be successful, a judge said. (Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg)
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The department said it has 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 participated in these activities,” the department 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.”
This comes after a series of actions by the administration in recent months to restrict visas for people around the world, including a visa ban for people from dozens of countries listed by the State Department, which civil rights groups have previously sharply criticized.
Critics, including civil rights advocates, have raised concerns about similar visa restriction policies, saying broad definitions of prohibited activity can raise questions about how people are identified and what due process protections are available.
“This administration's targeting of people based on their national origin is part of an autocratic playbook designed to make America smaller, to exclude ideas, perspectives, and communities,” Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, said in a statement earlier this year about suspending immigrant visa processing for people from about 75 countries.
