Mar 23 State Department orders embassies to ramp up visa screening By Matthew Lee, Associated Press The State Department has ordered American embassies and consulates around the world to draw up criteria for "population sets" needing extra scrutiny before receiving visas to travel to the United States, according to a recent diplomatic cable. Continue reading
Mar 16 Trump budget seeks to boost defense spending, slash State Department and EPA By John Yang President Donald Trump is proposing “an America First budget” that would boost spending for defense, border security, law enforcement and school choice, while seeking to eliminate “the most inefficient, most wasteful, most indefensible programs” in the federal government, budget director… Continue reading
Mar 13 Watch 4:45 Why is Rex Tillerson keeping a low profile? By PBS News Hour Rex Tillerson is the lowest-profile secretary of state in modern times. As he prepares for high-stakes visits to Asian nations, there's news that he won't be taking press corps, one of a number of unusual changes in how the State… Continue watching
Mar 13 Tillerson heads to Asia with North Korea tensions high By Matthew Lee, Matthew Pennington, Associated Press Secretary of State Rex Tillerson plunges this week into the increasingly volatile situation in North Asia with visits to Japan, South Korea and China, the region's central players for dealing with North Korea's missile launches and nuclear tests. Complicating the… Continue reading
Mar 07 WATCH: State Department says Tillerson will address North Korean missile threat in Asia trip By News Desk and Associated Press Acting Spokesperson Mark Toner will lead the Tuesday briefing. Watch live starting around 2 p.m. EST on this page. Continue reading
Mar 01 You asked: How are refugees referred to live in the U.S.? By Larisa Epatko After seeing how refugees are vetted, some readers asked us to go back even further in the process and explain how cases are referred to the U.S. in the first place. Continue reading
Feb 23 Watch 9:25 U.S. and Mexico share diplomatic dialogue amid tensions By PBS News Hour The two heads of the State and Homeland Security Departments traveled to Mexico for what was originally seen as a fence-mending mission after months of diplomatic turbulence. But with new, tougher U.S. immigration policies taking shape, the visit was what… Continue watching
Feb 20 You asked: How are refugees vetted today? By Larisa Epatko When President Donald Trump signed an executive order last month suspending the U.S. refugee program in order to implement more “extreme vetting,” PBS NewsHour viewers asked us what the current vetting process is. Continue reading
Feb 10 Immigration ban reveals a nation divided By Laura Santhanam Now halted by a temporary court-ordered stay, President Donald Trump’s executive order banning Syrian refugees and blocking travelers from seven Muslim-majority nations created chaos at airports and left thousands of travelers in limbo. But beyond the immediate headlines, the order… Continue reading
Feb 06 Justice Department files brief supporting travel ban By Associated Press The Justice Department has filed a brief with a federal appeals court in support of President Donald Trump's travel and refugee ban. Continue reading