Executives of several Colombian transportation companies transporting migrants by sea will be subject to visa restrictions, the United States Department of State has said.
Through a statement released on May 6, the Department has noted that these companies prey on irregular migrants by operating services aimed to ease irregular migration to the United States, VisaGuide.World reports.
Several companies providing maritime transportation are knowingly facilitating the irregular movement of migrants and exposing migrants to exploitation and violence. US visa restrictions promote accountability for these actors and send a signal that no one should profit from vulnerable migrants—not smugglers, private companies, nor public officials.
Authorities in the US have emphasized that they will continue to take steps in order to impose visa restrictions against such transportation company owners, executives and senior officials in order to eliminate these practices within and beyond the Western Hemisphere, in cooperation with partners in government and in the private sector.
Visa Restrictions for Flight Operators Allowing Irregular Migration
The recent changes come in line with the State Department policy announced earlier this year, which expanded a prior Nicaraguan policy announced in November 2023.
In November last year, the State Department introduced a new visa restriction policy targeting those running charter flights into Nicaragua designed for irregular migrants.
Some charter flight companies have been offering flights that put migrants onto a dangerous path north to the US border.
Many of these migrants lack a legal basis for entering or remaining in the United States and are often returned to their home countries, having wasted significant personal resources and put themselves and their families at risk.
Back then, the State Department said that the government was taking steps in order to impose visa restrictions against owners, executives, and/or senior officials of companies, providing charter flights into Nicaragua that are mainly designed to bring migrants to the United States.
Visa Restrictions for Those Involved in Spyware Misuse
In February this year, the US State Department announced the implementation of a new policy that permits the imposition of visa restrictions on persons involved in the misuse of commercial spyware.
In addition, in December last year, authorities in the United States proposed to increase immigration fees that mainly affect H-1B and Green Card applications.
Soon after the introduction made by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the proposal was criticized by over 600 persons and organizations.
The proposal was designed to fix the problem of not covering all costs of agency operations, an ongoing problem since 2016.