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The United States indicated on Thursday that it will expand social media screening for foreign citizens applying for visas, including foreign journalists, as part of the tightening of immigration policy by President Donald Trump.
White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt shared an article on X from the Daily Signal, noting that the State Department has expanded social media screening to other types of visas for foreign citizens.
"Screening online profiles is intended to allow applicants to demonstrate that they meet the requirements for a visa under U.S. law and to ensure that no individual poses a security risk to the United States," a State Department spokesperson said in an email to AFP.
This already applies to numerous types of visas to enter the United States, including those for foreign students or cultural exchange participants, who must change their profile settings to make them public.
From now on, it will also apply to foreign journalists and certain citizens of Mexico and Canada.
This policy is criticized by NGOs that invoke the protection of privacy.
The U.S. President has made the fight against illegal immigration a priority, massively expelling immigrants in an irregular situation, but he has also considerably, and sometimes draconianly, restricted the legal entry of foreign citizens.
"Having a visa is a privilege and not a right," reiterates U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Furthermore, according to new rules that are expected to come into effect soon unless Congress blocks them, foreign journalists will be limited to stays of 240 days, or approximately eight months, in U.S. territory, although they will be able to request renewals for identical periods.
[Publicidad]