Liberians are expressing mixed opinions about last week’s breaking news of the United States’ temporary suspension of visas to Liberia and 74 other nations as part of the US government’s immigration overhaul. Speaking to reporters in Monrovia during the weekend, Varney Fahnbullah said, “The decision for the United States to temporarily suspend visas to Liberia and other countries has no reflection on foreign policy failure by the current government.” He noted that President Boakai has restored the damaged international image of the country that was created under the previous administration, so this can’t be attributed to the Boakai administration.
Barclay Weah, a Liberian street vendor, called on the Boakai administration to use all diplomatic channels to understand the driving motivation behind the U.S. government’s decision to ascertain if the Government of Liberia has foreign policy issues. “I have been preparing for years to apply for the Diversity Visa. Now everything feels uncertain. It is frustrating because young people like me feel punished for decisions we did not make,” He said.
Peter Vaye, a businessman, stated, “Instead of crying about America, we should fix Liberia. If the country worked, nobody would be desperate to leave.”
Pa Zoema believes that President Donald J. Trump is protecting his country and its borders and isn’t stopping any president from doing the same. If the Government of Liberia is okay with foreigners taking Liberian jobs and forests in Grand Gedeh County and elsewhere, don’t blame President Trump. He further stated that the US government took the decision due to the statement made by United Nations Liberia’s Permanent Representative Lewis Brown over the current situation with Venezuela. He cautioned the president to work swiftly behind the scenes to ensure that this situation is restored.
Several opposition figures have described the situation as government failure. Randall Dobayou, an official of the opposition Congress for Democratic Change, stated that “The suspension of visa processing is attributed to the Rescue Government. The reckless statements of the Government of Liberia against our traditional allies on the Venezuela issue have caused this suffering for the Liberian people. We blame Boakai and his government.”
On January 15, the Government of Liberia came out strongly to condemn opposition figures who are celebrating the suspension of US immigration visas, which it considered hate, not politics, Information Minister made the statement at a press briefing.
