AREQUIPA, Peru – U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the U.S. government has imposed visa restrictions on senior officials of a European charter flight company for facilitating irregular migration through Nicaragua.
“No one should profit from vulnerable migrants – not traffickers, not private companies, not public officials. We will continue to enforce visa restrictions against unscrupulous transport company owners, executives and senior officials,” the official said. in an official statement published this Wednesday.
Without specifying the name of the sanctioned company, the text indicates that Washington’s measures respond to the growing trend of charter airlines offering flights to Nicaragua designed primarily for irregular migrants.
According to Miller, the sanctions are part of a “broader campaign against such exploitative practices inside and outside the Western Hemisphere, in collaboration with partners in government and the private sector.”
Based on the Immigration and Nationality Act, the spokesperson explained that the visa restriction policy is global and applies equally to individuals who would otherwise qualify for the Visa Waiver Program.
Politics on visa restrictions The US government’s ban was announced in November 2023 and expanded on February 21, 2024.
According to the State Department, as part of a comprehensive approach to address irregular migration, Washington is implementing visa restrictions under INA section 212(a)(3)(C).
In a call to potential migrants from Haiti, Cuba and other countries, the State Department urged last November to “seek the many safe and legal avenues available to migrate to the United States.”
He also recalled that the current Administration has led “the largest expansion of legal avenues in decades” and continues to apply consequences, including “return to their country of origin,” for those who do not use these avenues and lack a legal basis to remain in the United States.
