The United States government on Wednesday expanded its Sanctions policy for executives of travel agencies and tour operators that facilitate irregular emigration from Latin America.
In a statement The State Department announced that visa restrictions under Section 212(a)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) are being expanded, which prohibits the issuance of visas to individuals who facilitate irregular migration to the United States and benefit from the exploitation of vulnerable migrants.
The policy – which previously affected airlines and charter flights – will now also apply to travel agency and tour operator executives offering travel services designed primarily for irregular migrants.
Under this regulation, the directors of travel agencies that offer tourist packages to Cubans to visit the so-called “Land of Volcanoes” (Nicaragua) could be affected. After dropping off the passengers at a hotel, they acknowledge that none of them will take any tour, but rather will embark on a trip through Central America to the U.S. border.
“No one should benefit from the vulnerable migrants“Neither traffickers, nor private companies, nor public officials, nor anyone else,” said the US authorities.
According to the statement, with the implementation of this policy, the United States will continue to use “visa restrictions against unscrupulous transportation executives” as part of a campaign to eliminate exploitative practices inside and outside the Western Hemisphere.
This action expands a Department of State policy announced in February 2024, which replaced a previous policy announced in November 2023, under Section 212(a)(3)(C) of the INA.
That policy was aimed at senior officials of companies that provide transportation by land, sea or air. charterbut will now also cover senior officials of travel agencies and tour operators.
Since last year, these measures began to affect companies that transport illegal immigrants to Nicaragua, mainly from Cuba and Haiti.
In early November 2023, the US expressed concern about the increase in these charter flights from Cuba to Nicaragua, saying it was aware that they were leaving the island full of passengers and returning empty.
Two weeks later, the State Department reported that it was evaluating possible consequences for companies that facilitate the exodus of Cubans through Nicaragua via charter flights.
On June 13, the White House announced that it had sanctioned carriers that facilitated the entry of illegal immigrants into the country through Cuban flights to Nicaragua.
