As part of the wide-ranging review, prospective students and visitors to the US will be subjected to social media vetting with officials looking for “any indications of hostility toward the citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles of the United States”.<\/p>\n
State Department officers have also been instructed to spot individuals “who advocate for, aid, or support designated foreign terrorists and other threats to national security; or who perpetrate unlawful antisemitic harassment or violence”.<\/p>\n
Matthew Tragesser, a spokesperson from US Citizenship and Immigration Services, said in a statement: “America’s benefits should not be given to those who despise the country and promote anti-American ideologies.”<\/p>\n
He added that the immigration service was committed to “implementing policies” that “root out anti-Americanism”. <\/p>\n
The latest announcement came after Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US would “immediately” pause the issuance of worker visas for truck drivers. <\/p>\n
“The increasing number of foreign drivers operating large tractor-trailer trucks on U.S. roads is endangering American lives and undercutting the livelihoods of American truckers,” Rubio wrote in a post on X on Thursday. <\/p>\n
Since Trump came to power in January, several foreign students have been arrested at US university campuses for taking part in protests against the conduct of the war in the Gaza Strip by Israel – which is supported by the US.<\/p>\n
A few weeks ago, the US announced that citizens from Malawi and Zambia would be required to pay a $15,000 (\u00a311,300) deposit for a tourist or business visa.<\/p>\n
Trump has also banned foreign nationals from 12 countries from travelling to the US and imposed partial restrictions on another seven.<\/p>\n