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Trump urged to review UN immunity, lax visa rules amid national security concerns
A 1947 agreement outlining obligations as host of the United Nations continues to give employees and their family members relatively unfettered access to the U.S.
At a time of increased national security fears and immigration enforcement by the Trump administration, experts are urging a re-examination of the host nation agreement with an eye to the functional immunity granted to U.N. staff and the limited vetting given to those with U.N. visas.
«The United States appears to have taken a relaxed view of the individuals entering the country associated with the U.N., either as employees or as representatives of various country missions. And yet we know that U.N. employees have had, and continue to have, close, direct relationships with terrorist organizations, like UNRWA and Hamas,» Anne Bayefsky, director of the Touro Institute on Human Rights and the Holocaust and president of Human Rights Voices, told Fox News Digital.
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Sergey Lavrov, Russia’s minister for foreign affairs, talks with Vassily Nebenzia, Russia’s U.N. ambassador, during a meeting of the U.N. Security Council, April 24, 2023. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
Bayefsky said there is «a disconnect between the welcome routine and the significant harm to American interests. Hosting the U.N. does not require the host country to facilitate or endure threats to its national security.»
The federal government grants G visas to employees, spouses and children of international organizations, including the U.N., who reside in, or are visiting, the U.S. According to the State Department’s website, «if you are entitled to a G visa, under U.S. visa law, you must receive a G visa. The exceptions to this rule are extremely limited.» The Department of State also explains that «Embassies and consulates generally do not require an interview for those applying for G-1 – 4 and NATO-1 – 6 visas, although a consular officer can request an interview.»
Hugh Dugan, a senior advisor to 11 U.S. former ambassadors to the U.N., told Fox News Digital that it «appears to me that the issuance of the G visas for [U.N. employees] is a relatively rubber stamp exercise.» While not requiring interviews of personnel has «become a matter of convenience, frankly, we should always be able to assess a threat to our country.»’
Dugan, a former National Security Council special assistant to the president and senior director for international organization affairs, said nations like Russia and China are only allowed to travel a certain distance from U.N. headquarters. «We are mindful of our adversaries’ activities and presence here, but the door is open to participate in the U.N. and the host country agreement makes that possible so that no country would be barred because of a certain political atmosphere or issue that might be brewing between us and them.»
Former Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi displays the photo of Gen. Kasim Soleimani at the United Nations. (Peter Aitken for Fox News Digital)
Fox News Digital asked the State Department whether it requires interviews for staff from adversarial member states, including Cuba, Venezuela, Russia, North Korea, Iran and China, but received no response. A State Department spokesperson reiterated that consular officers «have full authority to require an in-person interview for any reason.»
Peter Gallo, formerly an investigator with the U.N. Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS), told Fox News Digital that he is particularly concerned about the functional immunity granted to U.N. staff participating in activities related to their employment. Gallo explained that «U.S. legal system has come to accept that pretty much it’s a blanket coverage.» He added that «immunity breeds impunity.»
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Gallo claimed that there is an epidemic of sexual offenses and misconduct among U.N. staff. He cited an incident in which a U.N. employee outside the U.S. sexually harassed «a young female in his department.» Gallo said it took two years after receipt of the investigation report for an investigation to be completed, which resulted in the demotion of the offending employee. Gallo said the employee who was harassed, and her harasser remained in the same organization.
Gallo said that if employees take part in misconduct while based at U.N. headquarters, the U.S. government should be able to examine cases and determine whether staff should retain their G visas.
Dugan said that if U.N. personnel «knew that [immunity] could be lifted at any time by us… they might start behaving a lot differently.»
China’s Vice President Han Zheng addresses the 78th United Nations General Assembly in New York City on Sept. 21, 2023. (Ed Jones/AFP via Getty Images)
In response to questions about whether U.N. staff have been accused of sexual misconduct in the U.S., or whether U.N. staff who engaged in misconduct have had their G visas revoked, a State Department spokesperson explained the department «generally does not provide» revocation statistics. They also said that «all visa applicants, no matter the visa type and where they are located, are continuously vetted. Security vetting runs from the time of each application, through adjudication of the visa, and afterwards during the validity period of every issued visa, to ensure the individual remains eligible to travel to the United States.»
The spokesperson said officials of the U.N. «are expected to respect applicable laws of the United States, including criminal laws. Failure to do so may constitute an abuse of privileges of residence.» They added that this «applies for those who hold diplomatic immunity for their positions as well.»
Among staff who have raised internal alarm bells is U.N. special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories Francesca Albanese, who traveled to the U.S. in 2024 to deliver a report before the Third Committee of the General Assembly. Albanese, whose antisemitism has been condemned widely by senior U.S. diplomats and the State Department, was allowed to tour multiple U.S. college campuses while in the U.S.
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In addition to qualifying for «rubber stamp» G visas, staff of international organizations like the United Nations can qualify for green cards if they have spent half of at least seven years of employment inside the U.S., or have been in the U.S. for a combined total of 15 years prior to retirement.
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Voters react as Trump calls Dems ‘crazy’ for not applauding ban on secret teen gender transitions
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President Donald Trump’s decision to rip Democrats as «crazy» during his State of the Union address on Tuesday — after they remained seated while he demanded a ban on socially transitioning minors without parental consent — drew sharply divided reactions from a live panel of voters.
The panel, assembled by polling group Maslansky & Partners, included 29 Democrats, 30 Independents and 40 Republicans. Their real-time reactions were displayed as colored lines on a graph, with higher values representing positive reactions and lower values indicating negative ones.
«But surely we can all agree no state can be allowed to rip children from their parents’ arms and transition them to a new gender against the parents’ will,» Trump said. «Who would believe that?… We must ban it, and we must ban it immediately.»
As Trump delivered the remarks, the Republican line, shown in red, climbed sharply into positive territory. Independents, represented in yellow, also ticked upward, while Democrats, shown in blue, trended downward into negative territory.
President Donald Trump speaks during his State of the Union address as a live reaction panel assembled by Maslansky & Partners tracks voter responses to his remarks on banning school gender transitions without parental consent. Republicans are shown in red, Independents in yellow and Democrats in blue. (Fox News)
The comments drew applause from Republicans in the chamber, but the president became incensed when he realized that Democrats refused to stand.
«Look, nobody stands up,» Trump said.
«These people are crazy. I’m telling you. They’re crazy,» Trump said, pointing his finger at Democratic senators and House members who remained seated.
Republican reactions stayed elevated during the remarks, while Democratic responses remained negative and independent voters held relatively steady.
Sage Blair and her mother, Michelle Blair, stand in the gallery during President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address after he highlighted her case involving alleged school gender transition policies. (Pool)
Trump made the remarks as he called on Sage Blair, a Virginia teenager whose family filed a 2023 lawsuit alleging that Appomattox County High School staff socially transitioned her without parental knowledge.
According to a lawsuit filed by her family, Blair began identifying as male at school, where staff used male names and pronouns and allowed her to use male facilities without informing her parents.
WATCH: Trump highlights teen whose family says school hid her gender transition during State of the Union
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The family alleges the situation escalated after Blair ran away from home and later became a victim of sex trafficking, with the lawsuit alleging she was kidnapped and raped in multiple states.
Highlighting the case during his address, Trump said Blair was 14 when school officials sought to socially transition her «to a new gender,» treating her as a boy and hiding it from her parents.
«But today, all of that is behind them because Sage is a proud and wonderful young woman with a full-ride scholarship to Liberty University. Sage and Michelle, please stand up,» Trump said as Republicans in the chamber cheered.
«Thank you for your great bravery,» he added.
The gender policy segment generated some of the strongest reactions of the night from the panel.
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President Donald Trump demanded a ban on schools socially transitioning minors without parental consent at Tuesday’s State of the Union. (Kenny Holston-Pool/Getty Images)
Among supporters, several comments focused on protecting children and parental involvement, including: «Protect children,» and «Parents should be informed.»
Opponents pushed back on the scope of the proposal, writing comments such as: «Every case is unique,» and «A total ban is not good.»
The issue appeared to trigger deeply personal reactions on both sides.
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El primer ministro de la India, Narendra Modi, llegó a Israel el miércoles para una visita de dos días destinada a profundizar los lazos con un socio comercial y de defensa clave, un viaje que ha generado críticas en el país.
Es la segunda visita de Modi a Israel como primer ministro.
Tiene previsto reunirse con su homólogo Benjamin Netanyahu y con el presidente Isaac Herzog.
“Nuestras naciones comparten una asociación estratégica sólida y multifacética”, dijo Modi en una declaración antes de salir de Nueva Delhi, y agregó que se dirigirá a la Knesset, el parlamento de Israel, más tarde el jueves.
“Los lazos se han fortalecido significativamente en los últimos años”.
Nueva Delhi ha ampliado constantemente la cooperación con Israel en los sectores de defensa, agricultura, tecnología y ciberseguridad, al tiempo que equilibra sus intereses diplomáticos en Oriente Medio.
El lunes se iniciaron en Nueva Delhi las conversaciones para un Acuerdo de Libre Comercio (TLC) entre India e Israel, dijo el gobierno de India en un comunicado, señalando que el comercio de mercancías alcanzó los 3.620 millones de dólares en 2024-2025.
Modi dijo que mantendría conversaciones con Netanyahu para “discutir formas de fortalecer la cooperación”.
Las relaciones diplomáticas plenas entre ambos países se establecieron en 1992. Los lazos se profundizaron después de que el líder nacionalista hindú Modi asumiera el cargo en 2014.
Modi visitó Israel por primera vez como primer ministro en 2017, antes de que Netanyahu hiciera una visita recíproca a la India el año siguiente.
Ambos líderes de derecha se han llamado mutuamente “amigos”.
En septiembre de 2023, se dieron a conocer en Nueva Delhi grandes planes para un Corredor Económico India-Medio Oriente-Europa, que conectaría ferrocarriles, puertos, electricidad, redes de datos y oleoductos, incluso a través de Arabia Saudita e Israel.
Esos planes se vieron frustrados por el ataque de Hamas del 7 de octubre contra Israel, que respondió con una guerra devastadora en la Franja de Gaza.
“Lo que ocurrió el 7 de octubre fue recibido en la India con conmoción y horror, y es por eso que el apoyo a Israel fue rápido, instantáneo y enorme”, dijo Ashok Malik, director de la firma de asesoría estratégica The Asia Group, con sede en Nueva Delhi.
Los vínculos entre India e Israel, que Modi está “impulsando con esta visita”, no surgen únicamente de una alineación estratégica en cuestiones como el terrorismo, añadió.
“Israel tiene mucho que aportar en materia de innovación tecnológica, incluyendo agricultura, tecnología, alianzas económicas y, por supuesto, defensa… Esto es completamente independiente de la cuestión palestina”, afirmó Malik.
Meses después de su visita a Israel en 2017, Modi viajó a Ramallah, sede de la Autoridad Palestina.
Sin embargo, su visita actual ha suscitado críticas en su país.
Priyanka Gandhi, figura destacada del partido del Congreso y hermana del líder de la oposición Rahul, publicó el miércoles en las redes sociales que esperaba que Modi mencionara el asesinato de “miles de hombres, mujeres y niños inocentes en Gaza” cuando se dirigiera al parlamento de Israel.
India, la nación más poblada del mundo con 1.400 millones de habitantes, es mayoritariamente hindú, pero se estima que 220 millones de indios son musulmanes.
Uno de los conglomerados más grandes de la India, Adani Group, opera el puerto israelí de Haifa, mientras que la tecnología de drones militares israelíes jugó un papel fundamental durante el enfrentamiento de mayo de 2025 entre la India y Pakistán.
Al mismo tiempo, India mantiene fuertes relaciones con los países del Golfo y Teherán, incluido el desarrollo del puerto iraní de Chabahar, una puerta de entrada comercial a Afganistán, donde Nueva Delhi ha construido una relación con las autoridades talibanes.
(con información de AFP)
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