Feb. 22 (UPI) — The United States has expanded visa restrictions to transportation operators accused of offering services that facilitate irregular migration, as the Biden administration attempts to clamp down on migrants and asylum seekers illegally entering the country.
The State Department unveiled the new visa restriction policy Wednesday, stating it will target owners, executives and senior officials of “charter flight, ground and maritime transportation companies providing transportation services designed for use primarily by persons intending to migrate irregularly to the United States.”
The Biden administration has been trying to tackle a surge in migrants illegally entering the country following the COVID-19 pandemic. In December, U.S. Border Patrol agents experienced a record 301,983 encounters at the Southwest land border, followed by a more than 40% plunge to 176,205 encounters last month, according to federal statistics.
Wednesday’s announcement is the expansion of a visa restriction policy the Biden administration implemented in November targeting operators of Nicaraguan charter flight companies. It said there was a growing trend of such companies offering flights at extortion prices to send migrants toward the U.S. southern border.
The State Department said Wednesday that its policy targets transportation operators who prey on vulnerable migrants.
“Those who come to the United States without a legal basis often pay extortion-level prices and put themselves and accompanying family members at risk, only to be placed into removal proceedings pursuant to U.S. immigration laws,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.
“No one should profit from vulnerable migrants — not smugglers, private companies, public officials or governments.”
