President Donald Trump's administration has followed through with his promise to "cancel" visas for nationals of countries that systematically don't cooperate in the repatriation of their own citizens who have been ordered removed or deported by the United States.
However, not all countries that are uncooperative have been penalized. Also, the sanctions generally haven't applied to all citizens. The people prohibited visas mainly have been government officials and their immediate families.
The Homeland Security and State departments have announced sanctions on at least nine countries: Cambodia, Eritrea, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Burma, Laos, Ghana, Pakistan and Burundi. The types of visas restricted have varied by country; they include visas for temporary business or tourism and for student and exchange programs.
The U.S. government labels countries that systematically refuse or delay the repatriation of their citizens as "recalcitrant" or "uncooperative." The number of recalcitrant countries fluctuates as countries update their practices and accept their citizens at levels deemed acceptable by the United States.
A January report from the Congressional Research Service said that as of May 2019 there were 10 recalcitrant countries, and an additional 23 countries were considered "at risk of non-compliance."
China and Cuba are among countries that have consistently been considered recalcitrant but not sanctioned. A State Department official in 2016 told a U.S. House committee that countries such as China and Cuba control the foreign travel of their citizens and as a result may be unmoved by visa sanctions. Imposing sanctions may also push countries to retaliate in ways that could hurt the U.S. economy or security, the official said.
The State Department in April 2019 said that since federal law was modified in 1996 to allow sanctions of nonimmigrant visas, 318 applicants had been affected. In April 2019, only 10 recalcitrant countries were under visa sanctions (Guyana in 2001, Gambia in 2016, and eight during Trump's presidency. Burundi's sanction was announced in June 2020.)
"During this same time period, tens of millions of aliens have received nonimmigrant visas including, collectively, millions of applicants from the 10 countries affected," the State Department said in an April 22, 2019, final rule published in the Federal Register.
Trump's administration has restricted visas for nationals of countries that refuse to take back their citizens. But those restrictions have been narrow — mainly focused on government officials. The sanctions also haven't applied to all uncooperative nations. Given the uneven application, we rate this a Compromise.