Over 100 Media Groups Urge US to Retain Longer Stays for Foreign Journalists

TDT | Manama

Email: mail@newsofbahrain.com

More than 100 international media organizations and press freedom groups have called on Washington not to shorten the duration foreign journalists can remain in the United States, warning that the move could damage the country’s global reputation.

In a joint statement, signed by AFP and 117 other entities, the groups said President Donald Trump’s proposal would “reduce the quantity and quality of coverage coming from the US” and “damage, not enhance, America’s global standing.”

The appeal included major news agencies such as AFP and Reuters, public broadcasters including Britain’s BBC, Germany’s ARD, and Australia’s ABC, national newspapers like Canada’s Globe and Mail and Ireland’s Irish Times, as well as press freedom organizations including Reporters Without Borders and the Committee to Protect Journalists.

The Trump administration last month outlined plans to limit journalists’ stays in the US to a renewable 240-day period, with Chinese media workers restricted to just 90 days, alongside a four-year cap on student visas. Currently, foreign journalists can remain in the US for up to five years, allowing them to develop the “deep knowledge, trusted networks and contextual immersion needed to explain America to global audiences,” the statement noted.

“This serves a critical US interest: ensuring that America’s policies, culture, and leadership are clearly and accurately communicated to international audiences in their own languages,” the groups added.

The proposed visa restrictions are part of a broader crackdown on foreign nationals in the United States. Last week, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested hundreds of South Korean workers assisting with a Hyundai factory in Georgia, alarming the US ally.

The media organizations stressed that shortening journalists’ stays “risks leaving the world less informed about American news and current affairs.”