The U.S. will impose new visa restrictions on anyone accused of orchestrating or enabling religious violence against Christians abroad, the State Department announced Dec. 3 in response to ongoing anti-Christian attacks in Nigeria and elsewhere.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on X that the policy targets those who “knowingly direct, authorize, fund, support, or carry out violations of religious freedom,” including government officials who fail to stop attacks on Christian communities.
“The United States is taking decisive action in response to the mass killings and violence against Christians by radical Islamic terrorists, Fulani ethnic militias, and other violent actors in Nigeria and beyond,” Rubio said in a press release.
The policy is grounded in Section 212(a)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which allows the Secretary of State to deny visas when he has “reasonable ground to believe” a person’s entry could cause “serious adverse foreign policy consequences.” The restrictions may also apply to certain family members of offenders, according to the release.
Sean Nelson, senior counsel at Alliance Defending Freedom International, praised the visa policy as a long-needed enforcement tool. He said the move finally gives the U.S. government a functional tool to hold religious freedom abusers accountable.
Earlier visa bans under Section 212(a)(2)(G) were rarely applied because they required proving that a government official committed a “particularly severe” violation, he said.
According to Nelson, by rooting the new policy in Section 212(a)(3)(C), the State Department can now target a far broader range of actors, including officials and community leaders who enable or ignore routine persecution of Christians and other minorities.
Nelson said Rubio’s message is straightforward: The U.S. will not grant visas to anyone who supports or enables persecution of Christians or other religious minorities because doing so carries serious foreign policy consequences.
“So if you want to come to the U.S.,” Nelson concluded, “don't support persecution. Period.”
The department’s announcement comes amid a surge of deadly attacks on Christians in Nigeria. In late October, President Donald Trump placed the African nation on the State Department’s “Country of Particular Concern” list for severe religious freedom violations and warned that the U.S. would act if the Nigerian government failed to stop radical Islamist violence.
Last month, gunmen stormed the Christ Apostolic Church in Eruku, Kwara State, killing two and abducting dozens of people, CatholicVote reported. All 38 hostages were freed nearly a week later. Days later, armed militants raided St. Mary’s Catholic School in Niger State and kidnapped more than 300 students and staff. While 50 students escaped, 253 students and 12 teachers remain captive.
As CatholicVote previously reported, more than 50,000 Christians have been killed in Nigeria since 2009, with an estimated 7,000 killed in the first half of 2025 alone.