No visas for foreigners celebrating Charlie Kirk's killing, warns US govt

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said visas are being denied to foreigners accused of "celebrating" the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk

The US has begun turning away visa applicants accused of praising the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Tuesday. Kirk, a 31-year-old ally of President Donald Trump, was shot dead during a university event in Utah on September 10, prompting the Biden administration’s top diplomat to link visa denials to online reactions to his death.

 

Rubio signals tougher line

 

Speaking before leaving Israel, Rubio said the new policy was not confined to Kirk’s case.

 

“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,” said Rubio. “Why would we want to give a visa to someone who think it’s good that someone was murdered in the public square? That’s just common sense to me.”

 

 

The secretary of state added that he expected some visas would be revoked. “We’ve got to go at process in all these. I’m sure there’ll be some that are revoked. There’s no shortage of idiots around the world that have decided it’s a great idea to murder someone,” he said. 

 

Visa policy already tightened

 

The move follows a series of restrictions introduced under Donald Trump’s second term.

 

— Visas have been denied to students linked to protests against the war in Gaza

— Holders of Palestinian Authority passports face near blanket refusals

— Members of the Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organization are also blocked

 

Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau said last week he had instructed consular officials to “take appropriate action” against people “praising, rationalizing, or making light of” Kirk’s death. Officials were told to track comments on social media to identify such individuals.

 

The administration’s stance has drawn scrutiny because it touches directly on First Amendment protections for free speech. Rubio did not provide details of how many visas had already been denied, how the government decided people were “celebrating,” or the legal authority being used.

 

He admitted he did not know if any visas had yet been revoked. “By the way, it’s bad that we have people that are US citizens that feel that way,” he said.