The Trump administration has implemented a significant change to the way foreign journalists are allowed to work in the US. As of the revised rules, foreign journalists will be limited to a 240-day visa, down from the previous five-year duration. Chinese journalists will be further restricted, with a 90-day visa limit.
The new rules, announced by the Department of Homeland Security, do away with the ‘duration of status’ system, which allowed foreign journalists to stay and work in the US as long as they met eligibility requirements. The change is part of a broader effort to ‘reclaim the US’s ability to properly screen, vet and monitor individuals within our borders’, according to the Department of Homeland Security secretary, Markwayne Mullin.
Criticism of the move has been swift and vocal, with journalism advocacy groups arguing that the shorter visa duration will severely limit the ability of foreign journalists to live and work in the US. The Committee to Protect Journalists has described the new visa policy as ‘the behaviour of a backsliding democracy, not the international vanguard of free speech’. Reporters with Borders has also expressed outrage, stating that the move ‘cruelly limits the duration of visas for foreign journalists from a period of up to five years to a fixed eight months’.
The change has significant implications for foreign journalists and the organisations they represent. While the decision does not directly affect British journalists, it is likely to have a broader impact on the global media landscape. The British government has yet to comment on the move.
The decision is the latest in a series of moves by the Trump administration to tighten immigration policies. The US has also seen a significant increase in threats and legal actions against news organisations, further exacerbating tensions between the US and the media.