The Trump administration has been accused of orchestrating what analysts describe as the “largest fraud in U.S. immigration history,” after allegedly collecting more than $1 billion in visa and immigration fees from applicants — potentially including Tongans — whose cases were intentionally stalled or never processed.
A new analysis by the Cato Institute claims the administration froze visa and legal status applications for citizens of 92 countries, effectively taking payments for petitions that authorities no longer intended to adjudicate.
According to the report, applicants were left in limbo as U.S. agencies allegedly refused both to approve or formally deny their cases, preventing refunds and blocking appeals.
Although the Cato Institute does not publish a list of the affected countries, Tonga is widely understood to be among them, as it appears on recent Trump‑era U.S. travel‑restriction and visa‑freeze lists.
Mainstream media attempted to seek comment from the Trump administration, but no response was provided.
The allegations come as the Trump White House faces increasing scrutiny over a wide series of immigration restrictions which heavily target developing nations — including Tonga, one of the Pacific Island nations placed under newly expanded U.S. visa limitations beginning 1 January 2026.
Tonga now faces partial suspensions on several visa categories, impacting tourism, study, family reunification, and long‑term migration.
Tonga Caught in the Crossfire of Trump’s Immigration Crackdown
Under Presidential Proclamation 10998 and related directives, Tonga was added to a list of nations subject to tightened U.S. immigration controls and partial visa suspension.
Restrictions apply to B‑1/B‑2 visitor visas and F, M, and J study‑related visas, cutting off key pathways historically used by Tongans to enter the United States. The U.S. cited “security‑focused screening and vetting concerns,” including document‑verification standards and visa overstay rates, as justification.
The move has caused widespread anxiety within the 70,000‑strong Tongan community in the United States, with many fearing that family visits, graduations, funerals, and cultural gatherings will be disrupted. Critics argue that the restrictions — which disproportionately impact non‑white and developing nations — echo the racially‑motivated quotas of the 1920s.
The Cato Institute report alleges that the Trump administration’s actions amount to a systematic fee‑collection scheme, whereby individuals from dozens of targeted nations were encouraged to apply and pay required fees, only to have their applications frozen indefinitely.
According to the analysis, the Trump administration’s immigration measures included expanded travel bans affecting at least 40 countries, alongside a freeze in visa processing for 75 nations that U.S. officials claimed posed a risk of over‑reliance on American welfare systems.
These combined restrictions have created a backlog of an estimated two million immigration applications, leaving applicants with no clear pathway forward.
The report further alleges that consular officers were instructed not to inform new applicants that their nationalities had effectively been banned, preventing individuals from understanding that their cases would not be processed at all.
Analyst David J. Bier writes:
“The government took their money, and now it won’t even adjudicate their applications… The State Department is actually telling consular officers not to notify future applicants that the government has banned them.”
Pacific Concerns Grow Over the Impact on Tonga
Tongan scholars and community leaders have criticised the inclusion of Tonga in the restrictive lists. Many note that Tonga has long cooperated with the U.S. on security matters, including deploying troops to support U.S. missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. Despite this, Tongans now face restrictions normally reserved for conflict‑affected or high‑risk states.
A Guardian report noted widespread frustration in Nuku‘alofa, quoting experts who argued that Tongans “pose no threat” to U.S. security and that the decision punishes families and students rather than addressing any documented wrongdoing.
The Independent reports that American citizens with spouses overseas — particularly in Central America and Africa — have been separated from their families due to the freezes. Applicants were told their paperwork would not be processed, but also received no denial letters, making appeals impossible.
For Tongans, the impact of these restrictions could be severe. Students may lose scholarship placements, families may be unable to reunite, and churches and cultural groups could miss out on visiting ministers, performers, and elders who are central to community life.
The freeze also risks leaving Tongan‑American youth without the ability to be visited by relatives during major life events, deepening the emotional and cultural strain on diaspora families.
