The Trump administration has begun enforcing visa restrictions on people accused of violating religious freedom.

The policy was announced by the Secretary of State Marco Rubio in December as a response to the “atrocities and violence against Christians” in Nigeria and around the world.

Rubio said the US would take “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.” He added that anyone found to have “directed, authorized, significantly supported, participated in, or carried out violations of religious freedom and, where appropriate, their immediate family members” would have their visas restricted.

Confirming that the restrictions were now being enforced, the US Principal Adviser for Global Religious Freedom, Mark Walker posted on social media site X that “If you engage in persecution, you are not welcome in America. The United States is safer when we keep those responsible for religious persecution from entering our homeland”.

The Trump administration has been outspoken in its concern over religious freedom violations and officials said the policy is a response to years of worsening persecution across the world.