Rubio Announces Visa Restrictions on Foreign Nationals Involved in Censoring Americans

The secretary of state said free speech is “a birthright over which foreign governments have no authority.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio testifies at a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on President Donald Trump's State Department budget request, in Washington on May 21, 2025. Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on May 28 new visa restrictions against foreign nationals involved in censoring the speech of U.S. citizens.

“For too long, Americans have been fined, harassed, and even charged by foreign authorities for exercising their free speech rights,” Rubio announced in a post on social media platform X.

“Today, I am announcing a new visa restriction policy that will apply to foreign officials and persons who are complicit in censoring Americans. Free speech is essential to the American way of life—a birthright over which foreign governments have no authority.”

Rubio said foreign nationals involved in suppressing the rights of Americans shouldn’t be allowed to visit the United States.

“Whether in Latin America, Europe, or elsewhere, the days of passive treatment for those who work to undermine the rights of Americans are over,” he said.

The Epoch Times reached out to the State Department for more details about Rubio’s reasons for adopting this new policy position. The department did not immediately respond to the request for comment.

Trump Media & Technology Group, which operates Truth Social, and the video-sharing platform Rumble have recently challenged an order issued by Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes directing the U.S. media companies to remove accounts belonging to a prominent supporter of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.

In February, a U.S. federal judge ruled that Rumble and Trump Media could ignore the order of the Brazilian court.

Elon Musk, an adviser to the White House and the owner of social media platform X, has also clashed with Moraes over the Brazilian judge’s demands to block certain accounts on the platform.

At a U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on May 21, Rubio told lawmakers he was reviewing potential sanctions against Moraes.

During the hearing, Rubio said, “We need to be strong defenders of free speech everywhere in the world and anywhere in the world where it’s being threatened, including, sadly, parts of Europe, where we’re seeing truth and we’re seeing free speech now being endangered.”

Several U.S. tech companies, including Apple, Google, Microsoft, Meta, and X, have faced scrutiny within the European Union under the bloc’s Digital Services Act.

The Digital Services Act requires large tech platforms to account for their content moderation decisions, including the steps they take to remove content deemed to be hateful or deceptive.

Musk drew scrutiny from EU leaders earlier in 2025 over his endorsement of Germany’s right-wing Alternative for Germany party and his interview with party leader Alice Weidel.

The Trump administration has considered other approaches to counter the European Union’s efforts to regulate U.S. tech companies, including imposing tariffs.

In April, the European Union signaled it would not consider making concessions to its digital services regulatory framework as part of ongoing trade negotiations with the United States.

This decision to restrict visas for foreign nationals involved in censoring Americans comes a day after the State Department confirmed it is also set to apply a more rigorous screening process for other visa applicants, including those seeking student visas.

On May 27, a senior State Department official told The Epoch Times that Rubio had issued an internal cable, ordering U.S. embassies around the world to pause student visa interviews until the department issues further guidance on the screening process.