Fact Check: Claims That Trump Ordered Deportation of All Foreigners and Visa Sanctions Are False

A friend called this afternoon asking about rumors that the U.S. plans to deport all foreigners and impose visa sanctions. These are actually rumors.

Chinese Media Spread Misinformation

Beyond the WeChat circles that are already full of rumors, many Chinese media outlets also got it wrong. Numerous reports claimed that "countries unwilling to let their citizens leave the U.S. and return home will face visa sanctions." Even more extreme, Chinese media such as Global Times—whether intentionally alarmist or just hearsay and improvisation—actually reported that "Trump ordered the expulsion of foreigners in the U.S." No wonder my B1/B2 friends were worried after hearing this.

Sensational Rumors on Social Media

The rumors on Weibo and WeChat are even more absurd, for example this one:

On April 11, the United States announced that, amid the pandemic, foreigners stranded in the U.S. should leave as soon as possible, including all green card holders who are not yet U.S. citizens; they must evacuate the U.S., and their countries must quickly take measures to open green channels and bring these citizens in the U.S. back to their own countries. Otherwise, they will face U.S. sanctions. Once the news broke, the world was immediately in an uproar. It seems Trump is trying to shift the blame, directly shifting the blame for the pandemic onto the whole world—if the U.S. suffers, no one else should have it easy! See, the U.S. is just so unreasonable. This sudden U.S. order will affect many countries, and China will bear the brunt, as there are a large number of Chinese in the U.S. holding green cards, studying, and working. Now this sudden U.S. order will pose a huge problem for China. Bringing so many Chinese in the U.S. back home will have a huge impact on China's pandemic prevention and control. This may even be Trump deliberately making things difficult for China, thereby increasing his bargaining chips with China and making China increase its aid to the U.S. But threatening and bargaining with human lives—isn't that too shameless? Seeing this, I feel sad for those compatriots who ruin their families to obtain U.S. green cards. Some send their children abroad at an early age, spending large sums for them to study abroad; some, in order to get a U.S. green card, even sell out their ancestors, just so that one day they can return home and feel superior. They are loyal to the U.S., desperately making money in China, contributing to the U.S., buying houses and spending in the U.S., and in their hearts regard themselves as Americans. Yet today, they sadly find that in the face of a major pandemic, they are abandoned by the U.S. like a rag! Wake up—at the critical moment, saving your life still depends on your own motherland! You love the U.S., but does the U.S. love you?

How Did the Rumor Originate?

Lifetime Shijie said this rumor originated from Wang Bingru, a Phoenix TV correspondent in Washington, D.C. [source] (thanks to reader Cassandra for the information). I did not find Wang Bingru's original text, but the screenshot posted by Lifetime Shijie on Twitter is as follows, and it contains erroneous information.

[4/13 13:00] Update

After the article was published, Ms. Wang Bingru emailed me to explain:

First, I was not targeting Chinese immigrants, nor did I say Trump wanted to expel foreign immigrants; the memo also did not specify whom it targeted. Second, when the news first came out, U.S. officials did not specifically disclose that it targeted deported immigrants from Central America. The mention of "repatriation" was what led people to misunderstand it as evacuation of citizens. Third, I have promptly updated my Weibo post, and I also hope to convey timely and accurate information rather than spread rumors. I really cannot accept your calling me the "originator," and I hope you can understand and not resort to personal attacks.

The original memo's description of repatriation is as follows: "The United States must be able to effectuate the repatriation of foreign nationals who violate the laws of the United States." It refers to deporting foreigners who "violate U.S. law." However, Lifetime said on Twitter that Wang "spread rumors" and even "relied on the reputation of being stationed in Washington to deliberately distort Trump's meaning." I cannot see that, so I deleted the Lifetime tweet previously cited in this article and also deleted the term "originator."

What Is the Actual Story?

Trump issued the memorandum "Memorandum on Visa Sanctions" on Friday [link], Sec. 2:

(a) The Secretary of Homeland Security shall notify the Secretary of State, pursuant to section 243(d) of the INA, 8 U.S.C. 1253(d), if any government of a foreign country denies or unreasonably delays the acceptance of aliens who are citizens, subjects, nationals, or residents of that country after being asked to accept those aliens, and if such denial or delay is impeding operations of the Department of Homeland Security necessary to respond to the ongoing pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2. (b) Upon receipt of a notification described in subsection (a) of this section, the Secretary of State shall as expeditiously as possible, but no later than 7 days after receipt, adopt and initiate a plan to impose the visa sanctions provided for in section 243(d) of the INA. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to alter or limit the authority of the Secretary of State to make exceptions consistent with the foreign policy interests of the United States.

Note this phrase: "after being asked to accept those aliens." After the U.S. government asks another country to accept these people (their citizens or residents), if that country's government refuses to accept them or unreasonably delays, the Department of Homeland Security must notify the Secretary of State, and the Secretary of State will impose visa sanctions on that country within 7 days. Under what circumstances would the U.S. government "ask another country to accept its citizens or residents"? Deportation.

In other words: if you are unlawfully present in the U.S. and the Department of Homeland Security deports you, but your country refuses to accept you or is slow and dragging its feet, the U.S. government will impose visa sanctions on your country. If your status in the U.S. is legal and you have not overstayed or been unlawfully present, there is no "Trump ordering the expulsion of foreigners in the U.S." If you return home on your own, regardless of any delay, the U.S. will not impose visa sanctions on the Chinese government—unless you are deported by the U.S. government for violating U.S. law and the Chinese government refuses to accept you or deliberately delays.

Among English-language media reports, Reuters was relatively clear: "Trump: U.S. could impose visa sanctions on countries not accepting deportees." The Hill reported [link]:

"There is a profound public health threat posed by individuals overstaying the terms of their admission, or entering the U.S. unlawfully, unchecked, and unscreened during the pandemic," a senior administration official told The Hill when asked about the memo. "It is imperative that the United States Government be able to expeditiously remove and return any foreign national to their country of origin if they are not in the U.S. lawfully."

As long as your status in the U.S. is legal, there is no need to worry. Some media reports believe that Trump's move targets Central and South American countries such as Guatemala and Ecuador, forcing them to quickly accept citizens deported from the U.S. [source].

Postscript

A friend said that family members in China heard this rumor, and they were "explaining to my mom until I was spitting blood." I said, we published an article to refute the rumor. But "she still thinks, look, a news website wrote it! A news website!" I said, tell her that U.S. Guide is the official website for Chinese in the U.S. Official!