CPJ condemns tightening of visas for foreign correspondents in US

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has issued a strong condemnation of the Trump administration's proposed changes to visa regulations for international journalists working in the United States. The press freedom organization argues that the reforms represent a significant institutional setback for the country and a drastic departure from decades of established policy.

Under the proposed new rules from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the long-standing "duration of status" system, which allowed foreign correspondents to remain in the U.S. as long as they were actively practicing their profession, would be eliminated. Instead, journalists would face very short, fixed periods of stay, requiring them to constantly apply for extensions to avoid deportation.

"This is the latest escalation that the CPJ has documented, following a pattern of deeply concerning press freedom violations by this administration," said José Zamora, CPJ's regional director for the Americas. "It is the behavior of a democracy in retreat, not of the international vanguard of free expression."

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This new measure abandons a decades-long consensus that allowed foreign journalists to report from the United States without fear that their immigration status could be used against them.

The preliminary rule, set to be published soon, would impose strict time limits on several key immigration categories. Foreign journalists on I visas would be limited to 240 days, requiring extensions. Chinese nationals working as journalists would face an even shorter maximum stay of 90 days. Students on F visas and cultural exchange participants on J visas would also lose the indefinite "duration of status" benefit.

The CPJ is urging the U.S. Congress to thoroughly review the DHS proposal and reject any regulatory changes that could expose foreign communicators to constant legal instability or be used discretionarily to penalize critical coverage.

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This is the latest escalation that the CPJ has documented, following a pattern of deeply concerning press freedom violations by this administration. It is the behavior of a democracy in retreat, not of the international vanguard of free expression.