WASHINGTON – Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) urged the Trump administration to reverse its immigration policies that are discouraging international visitors and threatening millions of American jobs and small businesses that rely on foreign tourism.
“I write to express concern regarding the impact your administration’s aggressive, chaotic, and restrictive immigration policies are having on the nation’s tourism and travel industry,” Senator Gallego wrote in a letter to President Trump, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. “International tourists spend billions in local communities across the country each year. This spending supports American jobs in the hospitality, restaurant, bartending, tour, event, retail, and airline industries. If these policies continue, small businesses, hard-working American workers, and middle-class families will suffer.”
In 2024, 5.3 million international tourists visited Arizona, spending a total of $3.4 billion. Across the country, international visitors contributed $181 billion in total economic output and supported 15 million jobs.
“However, your administration has implemented a series of policies that have put this prosperity in jeopardy. These policies include a new fee on tourist visas, making it one of the highest visitor fees in the world; a partial or full travel ban on 19 countries; more aggressive and frequent searches of international visitors at airports and other ports of entry; significant visa processing delays; and aggressive immigration raids across the country,” the Senator continued. “These actions have signaled to the world that the U.S. is closed for business, and the consequences speak for themselves.”
Since the beginning of 2025, countries across the world, including the UK, Canada, France, and Germany, have issued travel warnings for individuals considering visiting the U.S. The World Travel & Tourism Council report the U.S. is on track to lose $12.5 billion in international visitor spending, making it the only country surveyed expected to see a decline this year.
“These trends are even more concerning when you consider that the U.S. is preparing to co-host the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which is projected to generate $47 billion in economic output. If the current policies continue, we risk squandering this once-in-a-generation opportunity,” the Senator concluded. “In light of these obvious harms, I strongly urge the administration to reconsider the policies that are causing serious damage to international tourism and the economy. If the U.S. continues to be an unwelcoming destination for visitors, hard-working Americans, small businesses, and middle-class families will pay the price.”
Read the full letter HERE.
Earlier this year, Senator Gallego introduced the Canadian Snowbirds Act to support Arizona’s tourism and economy by extending the length of time Canadian citizens can stay in the United States annually.
11/26/25