More nauseating US visa rules

DONALD TRUMP, 79, has a history of obesity and of being overweight. In July, doctors diagnosed him with chronic venous insufficiency, a cardiovascular condition. So, it’s rich that his administration is now moving to close the door to legal migrants who are fat or who have pre-existing medical conditions.

According to a directive reportedly issued on November 5 to US embassies worldwide, people who are following the rules and seeking through formal means to live in America can be denied on health grounds.

“Certain medical conditions – including, but not limited to, cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases, cancers, diabetes, metabolic diseases, neurological diseases, and mental health conditions – can require hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of care,” the new guidelines state.

Mr Trump’s weight has fluctuated over the years. His cardiovascular condition has resulted in swollen ankles and bruising. None of this has stopped him from claiming to be fit. He is, by his own account, a productive and fully functioning individual who is more than capable of performing the role of commander-in-chief.

Yet, the standards that apply to him are not meant to apply to anyone else. Whereas his ailments are no big deal, if a person applying for US residency has a chronic condition, that’s it. They are persona non grata. They are destined to fall ill and be hospitalised and become a “charge” on the public purse, even though there is no universal healthcare in the US. Most people will, at some stage, experience one of the conditions listed.

The guidance is merely the latest instance of the Republican Party’s smearing of foreigners. As with the lie about illegal immigrants supposedly getting access to medical subsidies under Democrats, it is being suggested that there is somehow a disproportionate burden borne by the US treasury because of green card holders or those with legal residency.

Yet, a July 2024 analysis by public health policy experts Drishti Pillai and Samantha Artiga found that immigrants actually have lower healthcare expenditures than their US-born counterparts.

Alarmingly, the new rubric suggests visa officers, not doctors, will make subjective calls about the viability of an applicant’s long-term condition. Then again, such arbitrariness is not surprising for an administration in which Robert F Kennedy Jr, a quack, is in charge of health and in which Mr Trump is currently at war with Tylenol.

Criminals and rapists were supposed to be the targets of the Republic Party’s immigration policy. But lo and behold, college students applying for visas are being made to change their social media settings to “public;” exorbitant bonds are being floated. And now it seems a visa officer can turn you away, student or not, on a whim. That’s truly sickening.