DHS discontinues visa issuance in four countries

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, in conjunction with the U.S. State Department, recently implemented visa sanctions on Cambodia, Eritrea, Guinea and Sierra Leone in response to an overall lack of cooperation in accepting their nationals that have been removed from the United States.

Effective Sept. 13, 2017, DHS has specifically discontinued the issuance of B visas for personnel within the Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Sierra Leone Ministry of Foreign Affairs, while all B visas have been discontinued for those within Eritrea. Additionally, B, F, J and M visas have been discontinued for all government officials within Guinea.

“International law obligates each country to accept the return of its nationals ordered removed from the United States,” Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Elaine Duke said. “…The United States itself routinely cooperates with foreign governments in documenting and accepting its citizens when asked, as do the majority of countries in the world. However, these countries have failed to do so, and that one-way street ends with these sanctions.”

Following the recent Zadvydas v. Davis Supreme Court decision, undocumented immigrants with final orders of removal, including those determined to pose a threat to security or are a flight risk, may not be detained beyond a period of six months if there is no significant likelihood of removal in the foreseeable future.

According to DHS, by delaying or refusing to issue travel documents such as passports or refusing to accept their nationals within the six-month time period, the sanctioned countries have forced U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to release thousands of dangerous criminals into communities across the United States. Without the necessary travel documents, DHS said, ICE cannot complete the removal process, with very limited exceptions.

As a result of the sanctioned countries’ noncompliance, more than 2,100 Guinean and 830 Sierra Leone nationals have been released by ICE, many of whom carry serious criminal convictions on their records.

“American citizens have been harmed because foreign governments refuse to take back their citizens,” Acting ICE Director Thomas Hardman said. “These sanctions will ensure that the problem these countries pose will get no worse as ICE continues its work to remove dangerous criminals from the United States.”