Marco Rubio said ‘transgender’ athletes and others who misrepresent their sex should be barred from the country permanently for committing visa fraud, according to reports. The move is expected to affect male athletes who claim to be women and seek to compete in the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (LifeSiteNews) -- Gender-confused individuals who misrepresent their sex could be permanently barred from the country, according to Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The decision is expected to affect male athletes who claim to be women and seek to compete in the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
"The US state department has ordered officials worldwide to deny visas to [so-called] transgender athletes attempting to come to the US for sports competitions and to issue permanent visa bans against those who are deemed to misrepresent their birth sex on visa applications," The Guardian reported, based on a State Department cable it obtained.
The State Department would apply a "permanent fraud bar" on foreigners seeking to travel to the United States.
"In cases where applicants are suspected of misrepresenting their purpose of travel or sex, you should consider whether this misrepresentation is material such that it supports an ineligibility finding," Secretary of State Marco Rubio instructed staff.
The State Department plans to release further guidance specifically on "transgender" athletes, according to The Guardian.
The directive will "preclude biologically male athletes from participating in women’s sporting events, including sports exchanges in the United States," according to The Guardian's review of the documents.
The policies follow up on President Trump's promise to keep men out of women's sports, a popular campaign message that he signed into law with an executive order.
During an executive order signing in early February, he asked Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to "deny any and all visa applications made by men attempting to fraudulently enter the United States while identifying themselves as women athletes to try and get into the [Olympic] Games."
He also said he told Secretary Rubio to stop "transgender" athletes from coming to the Olympics. "America categorically rejects transgender lunacy," he said.
"We want them to change everything having to do with the Olympics and having to do with this absolutely ridiculous subject," the president said, as reported by the Associated Press.
The decision is the latest move by the State Department to recognize biological reality and reject gender ideology. Soon after taking over the State Department, Rubio ordered an end to putting "X" on passports in place of male or female.
He also banned LGBT and "Black Lives Matters" flags from U.S. embassies, a marked contrast from the Biden years, when the State Department pushed left-wing social politics via their embassies and social media accounts, as previously reported by LifeSiteNews.
