Migrants walk along the United States side of the border wall with Mexico to surrender to the U.S. Border Patrol near Campo, Calif., on March 13, 2024. On Wednesday, the Trump administration announced it was revoking visas to operators of a Mexico-based transportation company who provided travel services to migrants seeking to illegally enter the United States. File Photo by Pat Benic/UPI | License Photo
Dec. 3 (UPI) — The United States on Wednesday revoked the visas of executives and senior officials of a Mexico-based transportation company the Trump administration accuses of facilitating illegal migration.
The number of visas revoked and the identities of the individuals affected were not made public by the State Department, which announced the development.
“Investigations indicate that the individuals targeted arranged transportation for aliens, including minors, from the Caribbean and other regions to transit points in Central America, where many were later encountered attempting to enter the United States,” a State Department spokesman said in a statement.
“The department is revoking visas and taking steps to impose visa restrictions to prevent these individuals from entering our country.”
The Trump administration has been conducting a crackdown on immigration and, as part of the effort, is targeting those facilitating illegal immigration.
The punitive measure applied Wednesday was taken under a visa-restriction policy announced in March that permits the State Department to revoke or deny visas to foreign government officials and other individuals deemed responsible for facilitating illegal immigration — including by knowingly enabling the transit of migrants intending to unlawfully immigrate into the United States via the southern border.
The policy was built on a Biden-era visa-restriction program that was expanded in 2023 and 2024 to target private-sector transportation providers accused of knowingly facilitating irregular migration, but extends the authority to include foreign government officials and other state-linked actors.
“The United States will not tolerate any attempts to undermine our national security or immigration laws,” the State Department spokesman said Wednesday.
“The department will ensure those who profit from illegal immigration face consequences, and we will aggressively target smuggling networks to protect our borders.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., speaks during a press conference after the weekly Senate GOP caucus luncheon at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo