The State Department announced on Thursday a new policy that will prohibit the entry into the United States of foreign nationals who fund, recruit, collaborate with, or provide support to extreme left terrorist groups.
The measure was formalized by Secretary of State Marco Rubio through a statement published on the official website of the Department of State and accompanied by a message on the social media platform X.
"Foreigners who finance, incite, or collaborate with extreme left terrorists are enemies of our civilization. They are not welcome in the United States," Rubio wrote.
The new policy will be applied under Section 212(a)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which allows for the inadmissibility of individuals whose entry may have adverse consequences for the foreign policy interests of the United States. According to the Department of State, this provision does not allow for exemptions.
Who will be affected?
According to the statement, the restrictions will apply to foreigners who have participated in activities related to extreme left-wing terrorist organizations, including funding, logistical support, recruitment, incitement to violence, or facilitation of terrorist actions.
Rubio stated that these groups use organized structures to promote violence for political purposes and to attack the institutions of democratic societies.
The announcement coincides with the Ministerial Conference on the Resurgence of Political Terrorism, held this Thursday in Washington with representatives from over 60 countries.
During that meeting, Rubio stated that for years, international attention focused on jihadist terrorism, while other forms of political terrorism received less attention within security strategies.
The new policy is also part of the National Security Presidential Memorandum-7 (NSPM-7), signed by President Donald Trump in September 2025, which established a strategy to combat leftist extremist organizations.
Cuba reappears in Rubio's speech
Cuba occupied a prominent place in the arguments put forth by the Secretary of State.
On June 4th, Rubio stated that the island had been for decades "the world's capital of radical left terrorism" and recalled that Fidel Castro's regime trained and supported Latin American guerrilla movements such as FARC and ELN.
That line of action was reinforced on July 13, when Washington sanctioned the Rapid Response Brigades and the Territorial Troops Militias of Cuba as part of the Trump administration's pressure policy against the Cuban regime.
The measure generates criticisms
The new policy has also raised questions in the United States.
A group of eleven Democratic lawmakers sent a letter to Rubio requesting to know the evidence supporting the strategy and expressing concern about the approach taken by the administration.
From Cuba, Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez described the ministerial conference organized by Washington as "McCarthyite" and claimed it is based on "lies," according to statements released by the official media of the regime.
Rubio, however, has insisted that access to the United States is not a right.
"No one has an automatic right to a visa," affirmed the Secretary of State in February of this year while defending an immigration policy based on national security considerations.
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