New Secretary of State Marco Rubio pauses refugee operations, ramps up visa vetting

FIRST ON FOX: Newly sworn-in Secretary of State Marco Rubio is advising his section to cease exile resettlement operations and statesman ramping up vetting of visas from definite regions successful effect to enforcement orders from President Donald Trump. 

After officially becoming its adjacent secretary, Rubio directed the Department of State to halt exile resettlement programs, a elder section root told Fox News Digital.

He besides ordered the section to instrumentality enhanced vetting for visa applications from "dangerous regions." 

The caput cited new enforcement orders signed by Trump aft his inauguration Monday. 

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Rubio instructed the section to statesman taking definite actions successful enactment with Trump's enforcement orders. (Reuters)

Among dozens of enforcement orders, Trump signed 1 aimed astatine "Realigning The United States Refugee Admissions Program" and different to "[Protect] the United States From Foreign Terrorists And Other National Security And Public Safety Threats."

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President Donald Trump signs enforcement orders successful the Oval Office Jan. 20, 2025, successful Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

The erstwhile dictated that the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) beryllium suspended owed to its detrimental effect connected the country's interests. The second bid calls for accrued vetting of each aliens, "to the maximum grade possible," particularly those "from regions oregon nations with identified information risks."

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Trump's enforcement bid connected refugees further stipulates that "the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security whitethorn jointly find to admit aliens to the United States arsenic refugees connected a case-by-case basis, successful their discretion, but lone truthful agelong arsenic they find that the introduction of specified aliens arsenic refugees is successful the nationalist involvement and does not airs a menace to the information oregon payment of the United States."

Rubio was the archetypal Trump Cabinet subordinate confirmed, the Senate voting unanimously to bash truthful Monday night. 

Rubio directed the Department of State to suspend the exile program.  (Reuters)

He was sworn successful Tuesday morning, becoming the 72nd caput of state. 

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In remarks astatine the section Tuesday, Rubio said, "There volition beryllium changes, but the changes are not meant to beryllium destructive. They're not meant to beryllium punitive.

"The changes volition beryllium due to the fact that we request to beryllium a 21st period bureau that tin determination by — a cliché that's utilized by galore — astatine the velocity of relevance. But we request to determination faster than we ever have, due to the fact that the satellite is changing faster than we ever have. And we person to person a presumption that immoderate accidental is called ‘look astir the corner.’

A radical of implicit 100 migrants attempting to participate the U.S. illegally rushes a borderline partition March 21, 2024. (James Breeden for New York Post/Mega)

"But we truly request to beryllium reasoning astir wherever are we going to beryllium successful five, seven, 10 oregon 15 years. Some of the issues that face humanity contiguous person nary precedent. They person nary historical precedent. Some of the challenges we look person nary historical precedent. We tin comparison it to different era, to different time, but they're not the same. Things are moving faster than ever," helium explained. 

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Immigration was a apical run precedence for Trump during the 2024 election. 

In his inaugural code Monday, Trump promised, "I volition state a nationalist exigency astatine our confederate border. All amerciable introduction volition instantly beryllium halted. And we volition statesman the process of returning millions and millions of transgression aliens backmost to the places from which they came. We volition reinstate my Remain successful Mexico policy. I volition extremity the signifier of drawback and release. And I volition nonstop troops to the confederate borderline to repel the disastrous penetration of our country."