WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration announced Thursday it will drastically shorten visas for foreign journalists in the U.S. to 240 days, down from years, and cut those for Chinese journalists to only 90 days, raising concerns over press freedom in the United States and retaliation against American journalists overseas.
The final rule announced by the Department of Homeland Security will do away with the “duration of status” system, which allows foreign journalists to stay and work in the United States as long as they meet eligibility requirements. That will be replaced with a fixed period of time, though the visas may be extended.
The agency says it's necessary to better vet the visa holders. But advocates for foreign journalists oppose the change, saying the drastically shorter stay would severely restrict their ability to live and work in the States.
The even shorter visa rule for Chinese journalists, which does not include those from the “special administrative regions” of Hong Kong or Macau, is particularly harsh and could add tensions to the already fraught relations between Washington and Beijing, despite stated intents by both leaders to stabilize ties.
The decision comes at a time when President Donald Trump is targeting news organizations with multiple threats and legal actions at home and his administration is tightening immigration policies, though foreign journalists are not considered immigrants.
The rule will take effect 60 days after it’s published in the Federal Register. Congress can reject a rule, but it's extremely rare.
“We are outraged that the Trump administration has cruelly limited the duration of visas for foreign journalists from a period of up to five years to a fixed eight months,” the advocacy group Reporters with Borders said in a statement. “This change destroys international journalists’ ability to report from the U.S. and makes it extremely difficult for international outlets to operate here at all.”
“The relentless cycle of visa renewals restricts press freedom, as journalists will feel compelled to avoid drawing the administration’s ire, lest their applications be rejected,” it said.
The Committee to Protect Journalists, a watchdog group, released a statement calling the new visa policy "the behavior of a backsliding democracy, not the international vanguard of free speech.”
In proposing the change in August 2025, the federal agency said the rising number of foreign journalists in the U.S. “poses a challenge” to its ability “to monitor and oversee these nonimmigrants while they are in the United States." Mentioned as well: students and foreign visitors, who also will see their previous rule of “duration of status” replaced with fixed periods by the same decision.
By admitting them into the country for a fixed period, the Department of Homeland Security said it could better vet the visa holders to ensure their activities are permissible. The visas can be extended.
The first Trump administration sought to change the visa rules in 2020, but the proposal was withdrawn in 2021 when President Joe Biden took office.
But the White House then tightened visas for Chinese journalists to only 90 days, in response to the treatment of U.S. journalists in China, including the expulsion of three Wall Street Journal reporters, as tensions flared up during the COVID-19 pandemic between the two countries. The Biden administration later relaxed the rule, allowing stays to increase to up to a year.
When the Trump administration proposed to revive the 90-day rule last year, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said it opposed “the U.S.’s discriminatory move targeting a specific country.”
The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the latest decision.
AP journalist Fu Ting in Washington contributed to the report.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, Thursday, July 16, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
UVALDE, Texas (AP) — Catastrophic flash floods in Texas have killed two people and forced hundreds of rescues in areas still reeling from devastating floods a year ago, Gov. Greg Abbott said Thursday.
Rescuers aboard boats and helicopters have saved more than 200 people, including stranded drivers and people trapped in homes, Abbott said.
The governor said the hardest-hit areas are expecting more rain into Friday and are not out of danger yet, with some rivers expected to reach historic levels.
After days of pounding rain, the National Weather Service said a large wave on Thursday barreled down the same river wrecked by flash floods last summer when two dozen children and counselors died at Camp Mystic.
Much like last year, the floods came in the middle of the night. But this time some residents in the Texas Hill Country said they received more warnings.
Forecasters urgently warned, “Move to higher ground now!” as rivers rose hour by hour, turning them into fast-moving seas of white water. Some spots of the Guadalupe River rose by more than 30 feet (9 meters).
The governor said more than 2,000 first responders had been deployed and some evacuations began before the worst of the flooding.
“What happened last year was a warning to people on or near rivers," Abbott said. “No one can be complacent.”
As much as 28 inches (74 centimeters) of rain fell over the past three days in Uvalde County, which was spared from the worst flooding a year ago, the weather service said Thursday. Other areas saw roughly a foot of rain.
The governor said one of the victims was driving on a flooded road and was swept away near Uvalde while the other died in Kerr County.
Jennie Steward said the body of her husband, 65-year-old John Mark Steward, of Kerrville, was found Thursday.
She was visiting her parents when a neighbor called overnight, saying her husband was missing after water had risen to the door of their mobile home, which stood off the ground.
The entire home was swept off the platform and floated down Goat Creek on the Guadalupe, she said.
“It’s really hard that I wasn’t there with him,” she said. The two last spoke by phone Wednesday to celebrate their third anniversary.
The unfolding crisis brought back haunting memories of last summer's unimaginable Hill Country floods that killed more than 100 people over the July Fourth holiday.
“It’s crazy happening two times in one year,” said Josiah Rodriguez, who awoke to the sound of heavy rain around 2 a.m. Thursday in Kerrville. He navigated flooded roads to help evacuate relatives.
“Last year there was no warning of it,” he said. “It just kind of happened overnight and it took everyone by surprise. This year, a lot more alerts have gone into place, a lot more safety measures.”
Residents said they were caught off guard a year ago and didn’t receive any warning when floods overtopped the Guadalupe. Some local leaders were criticized for not acting quickly.
The storms and flooding this time threatened multiple counties close to the Mexico border and in the Hill Country near San Antonio. Roughly 6 million residents across Texas were under a flood watch this week, and many were expected to remain in effect into Friday.
Several agencies sent rescue helicopters to the flood zone, including Travis County in the state capital of Austin.
“My understanding is people were mostly trapped in trees and on rooftops,” said Travis County Judge Andy Brown, who said one caller warned 10 people were trapped on a barn roof.
At a wild animal rescue, Katie Buck evacuated several dozen animals to higher ground in the dark Thursday as the normally dry Lazy Creek overflowed. She had to quickly grab a porcupine despite having no gloves.
She got all of the animals to safety, but flooding destroyed several enclosures at the Buck Wild Animal Rescue and Wildlife Rehab near Ingram in Kerr County.
“We were just starting to get back on our feet again,” Buck said. “To have to go through this again is just devastating.”
Residents at an RV park in Comfort moved their trailers as sirens sounded, said manager Duke Earwood.
Water rose over the hoods of vehicles parked near the river at the Comfort RV Resort. Markers showed the flooding already matched last July's big flood.
“Too familiar for sure, and too soon,” Earwood said.
Floodwaters also overran the city of Uvalde overnight, cutting off most outside routes. The Leona River, normally dry most of the year, filled streets with water.
“People really can’t get anywhere,” said Carmen Rodriguez, who nervously watched water engulf her neighborhood as a helicopter roared overhead. “We have a place to go, but all the streets are closed.”
Rodriguez said authorities seemed to be well prepared, ordering mandatory evacuations and notifying people directly.
Texas Game Wardens rescued close to 150 people by the afternoon, according to a Texas Parks and Wildlife Department spokesperson. Video released by the agency showed crews hoisting children from a house surrounded with water into a helicopter.
So far, the heavily swollen Guadalupe has remained below the record levels reached in 2025. Gauges showed it rose by more than 30 feet (9 meters) in some spots over just a few hours.
Close to Camp Mystic, which hasn't reopened since last year's tragedy, the Guadalupe near Hunt reached about 20.5 feet (6.3 meters), which is enough to cause flooding, according to U.S. Geological Survey and National Water Prediction Service data.
In Kerr County, where summer camps dot the river's shores, the sheriff’s office said all campers were safe. Several camps said the children were staying inside, with one camp reporting normal flooding.
While the water didn’t rise as high as a year ago in Ingram, Mayor Claud Jordan believes this round of flooding was more widespread in his city. “The rural part of Ingram, all the roads are just trashed,” he said.
“There are a bunch of businesses that haven’t reopened from last year,” Jordan said. “This doesn’t help.”
The Hill Country is especially prone to flash floods because the area’s signature limestone is covered by just a thin layer of soil. During heavy rains, water can quickly shoot downhill before filling the narrow river basins.
Stengle reported from Dallas. Associated Press writers Christopher L. Keller in Albuquerque, New Mexico; Hannah Fingerhut in Des Moines, Iowa; Dave Collins in Hartford, Connecticut; Michael Phillis in Washington; Claudia Lauer in Philadelphia; Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire; Anna Wilder in Austin, Texas; Laura Turbay in Little Rock, Arkansas; and John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, contributed.
A property's gate featuring cattle is partially submerged with flood waters along State Highway 27 in Comfort, Texas, Thursday, July 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Joel Angel Juarez)
A first responder vehicle is parked as flooding moves along the Guadalupe River on Thursday, July 16, 2026, in Comfort, Texas. (AP Photo/Joel Angel Juarez)
A helicopter flies over the Guadalupe River as floods pass through the area on Thursday, July 16, 2026, in Kerrville, Texas. (AP Photo/Joel Angel Juarez)
Flooding blocks off G Street along the Guadalupe River on Thursday, July 16, 2026, in Kerrville, Texas. (AP Photo/Joel Angel Juarez)
Mike Erulenfeld and Kala Martin walks back to his truck after watching as the Pedernales River floods near Old Kerr Highway on Thursday, July 16, 2026, in Fredericksburg, Texas. (AP Photo/Joel Angel Juarez)
The Pedernales River floods along State Highway 16 on Thursday, July 16, 2026, in Fredericksburg, Texas. (AP Photo/Joel Angel Juarez)
Mike Erulenfeld and Kala Martin watch as the Pedernales River floods near Old Kerr Highway on Thursday, July 16, 2026, in Fredericksburg, Texas. (AP Photo/Joel Angel Juarez)
The Pedernales River floods underneath State Highway 87 on Thursday, July 16, 2026, in Fredericksburg, Texas. (AP Photo/Joel Angel Juarez)
A small fish is stranded on a sidewalk after flood waters subsided on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, in Boerne, Texas. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)
Reece Noble, left, and Gavyn Steffek, photograph a tortoise they found in flood waters on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, in Boerne, Texas. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)
Members of the Boerne Fire Dept. rescue a woman from flood waters on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, in Boerne, Texas. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)
A flood-damaged car hangs from a fence on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, in Boerne, Texas. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)
Members of the Boerne Fire Dept. prepare to perform a water rescue on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, in Boerne, Texas. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)
