On May 20, Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau announced the first use of a new tool in the Department’s more assertive global approach to protecting the U.S. fishing industry and global fish resources. The Department is taking steps to impose visa restrictions on 26 foreign nationals responsible for, complicit in, facilitating, or benefiting from illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing and IUU fishing-related activities.
This move marks a significant step towards ending impunity for individuals associated with IUU fishing and fulfilling the promise President Trump made to the American people in his 2025 Executive Order to Restore American Seafood Competitiveness. As announced by the Deputy Secretary on X, among the actions taken against these individuals, the Trump Administration has revoked the visas of former Argentine official Pablo Ferrara for corrupt activities that facilitated IUU fishing and undermined fair market access for American fishermen and Mexican national Jose Ali Amador for the illegal harvest of an endangered fish species, fueling trafficking operations along the U.S. border.
The United States and every other country that engages in fishing must effectively manage its fisheries, and the actions of these individuals who seek to ignore the rules for short-term, selfish gain at the expense of U.S. consumers and producers must stop. With these visa restrictions we are sending a clear message: people who seek to enrich themselves through IUU fishing are not welcome in the United States.
These actions are being taken pursuant to Section 212(a)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
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