Blanket Visa Bans Punish America’s Best Immigrants

A grandmother wants to visit her newborn grandson in San Francisco. She’s not trying to immigrate—she explicitly doesn’t want a green card. She just wants a brief visit. But because all Venezuelans are reportedly being denied visas, she’s trapped by a system that can’t tell the difference between rule-followers and rule-breakers.

The Carroll Family: Model Immigrants Caught in the Crossfire

Jim Carroll and his wife aren’t your average immigration applicants. They’re lawful immigrants who’ve become exactly the kind of engaged citizens every country should want. When a robber assaulted someone at their neighborhood cafe, they didn’t wait for police—Jim put the guy in a headlock while his wife stood ready with a water bottle. When someone tried to break into their apartment in 2021, Jim scared him off. When a man was overdosing on fentanyl on the sidewalk, Jim saved his life.

They understand rule of law “profoundly,” Carroll wrote, “because we are living the consequences of its breakdown here in San Francisco.” These are people who’ve experienced SF’s dysfunction firsthand and responded not with complaints but with action. And here’s the kicker: Carroll’s mother-in-law could have gotten a green card, but she doesn’t want to live here permanently. She just wants to meet baby Charles. So now the family’s options are she moves here forever—or she never comes at all.

The Radical Centrist Case for Sensible Immigration

Archived tweet

Legal immigration is still an important part of American exceptionalism. We can be for sensible borders without being totally open or totally closed. It’s the radical centrist view that builds the best America. https://t.co/8K46v1JNYW [Quoting @JimCarrollSF]: A plea to the office of Secretary Marco Rubio @SecRubio: On Jan. 30, my Venezuelan mother-in-law has an interview for a B-2 Visitor Visa at the US Embassy. The purpose of her visit is to meet her newborn grandson, Charles Carroll. My family and I are LAWFUL immigrants and law-abiding citizens. We have been praying for weeks for the visa to be approved, but just heard that ALL Venezuelans are being denied visas. We will keep praying, but I would be remiss not to ask for help from your office. This is a total Hail Mary, but if someone from your office could please contact me, all I ask is for a few minutes on the phone. My wife and I respect the law. We understand the need for rule of law profoundly, because we are living the consequences of its breakdown here in San Francisco. But we aren't the type of people who stand by idly. We refuse to be bystanders. Back in 2024, my wife and I stopped a man who robbed and assaulted someone at our neighborhood cafe. (I'm the one in the photo holding him in a headlock while my wife threatens him with her water bottle.) In 2021, someone tried to break into our apartment while we were sleeping, but I scared him off. In 2024, I rescued a man from a fentanyl overdose on the sidewalk while walking to our restaurant (I wrote about it in the SF Chronicle). We have many more stories like this. We respect immigration law, and are prepare to post bond per INA Section 221(g)(3) as assurance that she will not remain here beyond her brief visit. Please, I would greatly appreciate it if someone from your office could contact me for a phone call to discuss my MIL's visa application.

Garry Tan @garrytan January 28, 2026

Legal immigration is still an important part of American exceptionalism. That’s not a naive open-borders position—it’s the recognition that America’s strength comes from being able to attract and integrate the world’s best. You can believe in sensible borders and still think blanket visa denials are idiotic policy.

Carroll explicitly offered to post bond under INA Section 221(g)(3) as assurance his mother-in-law won’t overstay. That’s someone saying: “I will follow every rule you put in front of me.” And the answer is still no—not because of anything specific to their case, but because of their country of origin.

What Immigration Enforcement Should Look Like

Carroll nailed the problem: “The system has tolerated and rewarded rule breakers for years. Now those who try to follow the rules get punished.”

There’s a real challenge with Venezuelan immigration—years of economic collapse under Maduro have created genuine migration pressure. But the answer isn’t treating a grandmother trying to meet her grandson the same as someone exploiting weak border enforcement. That’s not enforcement; it’s bureaucratic laziness.

The whole point of visa interviews is individual consideration. You sit down, you make your case, an officer evaluates your specific circumstances. When policy becomes “deny everyone from country X,” you’ve abandoned judgment for algorithm. And the Carrolls—who’ve done more for San Francisco public safety than most actual residents—get treated like a risk.

The appeal to Secretary Rubio is reasonable: give this specific case the review it deserves. That’s not asking for special treatment; it’s asking for the system to work as designed.

The radical centrist position on immigration isn’t about splitting the difference between open and closed. It’s about policies smart enough to recognize that some people have already shown us who they are. The Carrolls have proven their commitment to this country through their actions. Now the question is whether our immigration system is capable of seeing what’s right in front of it.

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