Visa sanctions next step in Trump immigration agenda

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The United States is expected to issue visa sanctions against four countries, another step in a wider move by the Trump administration to crack down on people living illegally in the US.

CNN reported on Wednesday that the four countries likely to be penalized are Cambodia, Eritrea, Guinea and Sierra Leone, citing a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) source close to the discussions.

US President Donald Trump speaks at a "Make America Great Again" rally in Phoenix, Arizona, on August 22, 2017. /AFP Photo

Seven other nations - China, Cuba, Vietnam, Laos, Iran, Myanmar and Morocco – are also being viewed as “recalcitrant” about repatriating citizens the US wants to deport, DHS spokesman Dave Lapan said.

Previously issued visa sanctions have targeted government officials from Guinea and Gambia but the latest prospective penalties are likely to be broader, potentially restricting access to the US for all citizens of the affected countries.

The State Department will ultimately determine what sanctions will be imposed.

Campaign pledge

Donald Trump pledged on the campaign trail to take measures against countries that are unwilling to repatriate citizens that the US has attempted to deport.

"There are at least 23 countries that refuse to take their people back after they've been ordered to leave the United States, including large numbers of violent criminals. They won't take them back. So we say, 'OK, we'll keep them.' Not going to happen with me, not going to happen with me," Trump said in an August 2016 speech, according to CNN.

Protesters march against President Donald Trump's immigration policy in Los Angeles, California on May 1, 2017. /AFP Photo

Lapan said that people living illegally in the US and convicted of crimes were sometimes released back into US society because their home country refused to take them back.

The DHS has said that it has final deportation orders against 35,000 Cuban citizens that have criminal histories that Cuba refuses to accept.

Government shutdown?

Trump’s headline immigration policy – the proposed border wall with Mexico – also returned to the spotlight this week, when the US president threatened a government shutdown if funding for construction wasn’t passed by Congress.

"Now the obstructionist Democrats would like us not to do it, but believe me if we have to close down our government, we are building that wall," Trump said at a rally in Arizona on Tuesday evening.

Republicans will need support from Democrats to pass legislation to pay for the project, which Trump had initially pledged would be funded by Mexico. If the legislation is not included in a broader Budget bill, the president could refuse to sign it – halting funding for all but essential services.