Rubio Pushes Back on India’s Concerns Over US Visa Curbs, Says Policy Must Be ‘America First’ Under Trump

Secretary of State Marco Rubio pushed back against criticism of President Donald Trump’s immigration reform as Indian officials and media raised concerns that U.S. visa and immigration reforms may curb migration from India.

“What I want to leave clear is that the changes, while they may be having a disproportionate impact on a place like India that provides so many high-skilled workers to the U.S. economy, it is not a system that is targeted at India,” Rubio said during a Sunday news conference in New Delhi, India. “It is one that’s being applied globally.”

India’s foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar pushed back in his remarks.

“I apprised Secretary Rubio of challenges that legitimate travelers face in respect of visa issuance,” Jaishankar said.

“While we cooperate to deal with illegal and irregular mobility, our expectation is that legal mobility would not be adversely impacted as a consequence. After all, this is very relevant to our business, technology, and research cooperation,” he said.

Ultimately, Rubio – a son of Cuban immigrants – stressed that the U.S. values India as a “strategic ally” and vital trade partner, but immigration policy must be America First under Trump.

“Everything that you do as a country needs to be in your national interest, and that includes your immigration policy,” Rubio continued. “The United States, I believe, is the most welcoming country in the world on immigration.”

“Every single year, a million people, roughly, become permanent residents of the United States and contribute greatly,” he said.

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“The changes that are happening now or the modernization of our migration system into the United States is not focused – it’s not India-specific; it is global,” Rubio stressed. “It’s being applied across the world.”

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