New Visa Restriction Policy for Transportation Operators Facilitating Irregular Migration to the United States

State Department, Feb. 21, 2024

"The State Department is today implementing a new visa restriction policy under Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) Section 212(a)(3)(C) that targets owners, executives, and senior officials of charter flight, ground, and maritime transportation companies providing transportation services designed for use primarily by persons intending to migrate irregularly to the United States.  This new policy expands and supersedes the Nicaragua 3C policy on charter flights issued in November 2023. The policy targets transportation operations that prey on vulnerable migrants and facilitate irregular migration around the world and to the United States.  Those who come to the United States without a legal basis often pay extortion-level prices and put themselves and accompanying family members at risk, only to be placed into removal proceedings pursuant to U.S. immigration laws. No one should profit from vulnerable migrants—not smugglers, private companies, public officials, or governments.   We will continue engaging with governments and the private sector, both within and outside the region, to eliminate this exploitative practice."

[Editor's Note: I have filed a FOIA request for the full text of the policy.]