Kenyans studying, working, or planning to travel to the United States will face challenges after the US government announced stricter visa measures.
The Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the government will cancel visas and deport foreigners who are found celebrating the assassinations, mostly in the case of the conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
“Well, it isn’t just about Charlie Kirk. If you’re a foreigner and you’re out there celebrating the assassination of someone who was speaking somewhere, I mean, we don’t want you in the country," Rubio said at a press briefing where he fielded questions.
"Why would we want to give a visa to someone who thinks it’s good that someone was murdered in the public square? That’s just common sense to me,” he added.
He added that the government is monitoring social media closely and will act against foreigners celebrating and glorifying killings.
Rubio warned that visa revocations and denials are already taking place, and that others have already been revoked. He stated that the US should not applaud killings.
"Well, we’ve revoked the visas of people. I don’t know if we’ve revoked the visas of people who are inside the country. We’ve most certainly been denying visas. I mean, think about it. I want everybody to think about this for a moment, okay."
"You’re out there celebrating the assassination in cold blood of someone, and then you want to come in. Why would we want anybody like that in our country, as a tourist, as anything? We don’t want them here," Robi added.
Rubio's comment came after Kirk was fatally shot at a public event in Utah, USA, on September 10, where police are currently investigating the incident.
The US federation noted that DNA and other forensic evidence have linked a suspect to the scene and are currently looking into the matter
The celebratory post about the violent acts could be used as a ground to deny one entry to the country or even risk revocation of the already issued visa.
Any Kenyans who will, for instance, share these posts from anywhere, even in Kenya, could face consequences if it is flagged and linked to a visa application or holder.
