Kenyans hoping to study or live in the United States have been dealt yet another blow after the US government announced yet another controversial new policy.
The policy, which includes social media screening as part of its visa and immigration vetting process, will see foreigners denied visas if their social media is found to have any hint of antisemitic content.
On Wednesday, April 9, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) revealed that, effective immediately, the discovery of antisemitic content on a visa applicant's social media will be sufficient grounds to deny the applicant benefits, including green cards and student visas.
“There is no room in the United States for the rest of the world’s extremist sympathisers, and we are under no obligation to admit them or let them stay here,” said Tricia McLaughlin, the Department of Homeland Security’s Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs.
No nation is exempt from this sweeping new policy, which could potentially have a hefty impact on Kenyans, particularly since the United States remains one of the most appealing destinations for higher education, job opportunities, and permanent residence.
The new policy comes at a time when there are rising tensions across the globe linked to the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict. The US now says the new policy aims to prevent elements with extremist views from entering the country, which has been the subject of some horrific attacks from individuals in recent years.
The Department of State has already revoked hundreds of student visas from people who have been deemed to be in support of extremist groups or have shared comments perceived as antisemitic.
According to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, more than 300 student visas have been cancelled as he labelled some of the affected individuals as 'lunatics'.
Kenyan immigrants and students in the US now have another hurdle in the growing list of emerging challenges when applying for visas to the States. Despite Kenya having some strategic ties to Trump's government, the new US president has shown a lot of intent in applying his policies, with some of his ally nations emerging as collateral damage at times.
Notably, the new directive came just weeks after it emerged that the US would reinforce a vetting procedure on social media posts of visa applicants. The policy, which has been in effect since 2009, requires visa and green card applicants to provide usernames for all social media platforms used in the past five years, along with previous email addresses and phone numbers.
In the new proposal from the Trump administration, the vetting policy will apply to most visa categories, including diversity visas, work and student visas, and tourist visas. Among the social media platforms the US government will scrutinise are Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn, among others.
Applicants will be required to submit any old email addresses and phone numbers used in the past five years, with the data set to be stored indefinitely by U.S. authorities and shared among various state agencies.
