Rubio Statement on Visas for Those Who “Censor Americans”

Chinese students weren’t the only visa beneficiaries targeted by Secretary of State Marco Rubio last week. Rubio also announced his intention to restrict visas for “Foreign Nationals Who Censor Americans.”

Rubio starts his announcement by touting “free speech” as being “among” our “most cherished rights” as Americans. He expresses concerns about “foreign officials have taken flagrant censorship actions against U.S. tech companies and U.S. citizens and residents.”

He goes on to tout “a new visa restriction policy that will apply to foreign nationals who are responsible for censorship of protected expression in the United States.” He writes:

It is unacceptable for foreign officials to issue or threaten arrest warrants on U.S. citizens or U.S. residents for social media posts on American platforms while physically present on U.S. soil. It is similarly unacceptable for foreign officials to demand that American tech platforms adopt global content moderation policies or engage in censorship activity that reaches beyond their authority and into the United States. We will not tolerate encroachments upon American sovereignty, especially when such encroachments undermine the exercise of our fundamental right to free speech.

Rubio concludes with a legal justification/citation for this policy:

This visa restriction policy is pursuant to Section 212(a)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which authorizes the Secretary of State to render inadmissible any alien whose entry into the Unites States “would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.” Certain family members may also be covered by these restrictions.

-KitJ