Foreign workers in US-backed outlets cut by the Trump administration say they are facing deportation to their country.
Earlier this month, the Trump administration moved to repay the Global Media Agency (USAGM), an independent federal agency that oversees the US’s largest and oldest international broadcaster, the US (VOA), and provides grants to Radio Free Asia, Radio Free Europe and other news agencies. The agency had approximately 3,500 employees with an annual budget of $886 million in 2024.
“We have many colleagues in various services. Some have come here and asked for asylum visas. If their own government works for RFA (Radio Free Asia) and know that they have returned to their country, their lives will be at risk.”
“The authoritarian government praises what Trump is doing now,” Park said. “In Burma, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, there were people who fought for freedom and democracy. They worked for RFA. It’s very dangerous to them. Their lives are at risk if there is no radio Asia.”
State media in China and Russia have praised the cuts in news agencies, with Russian broadcasters calling the cuts a “holiday” for Russian national media.
The agency closure was unexpected and caused confusion in the park and other areas. “My wife is 28 weeks pregnant. We are very worried because I might return to Korea. I’m on a visa where I work, so I might return to Korea. My wife has almost a deadline and just bought a house last year,” he added. “It’s very worrying and depressing.”
However, the impact of the decision is felt worldwide, Park said. He cited the Radio Free Asia broadcast to North Korea, which North Korean defectors cited as an important source of independent news.
“I know North Korea is a very oppressed country. They hear nothing except the government media,” he said.
Workers at Voice of America also pointed out the risks and dangers posed to some employees of the visa, where their position may have to return to their country now that their position is at risk.
Currently, two VOA contributors are incarcerated in Myanmar and Vietnam, while four contributors to Radio Free Asia are currently incarcerated in Vietnam. Russia, Belarus and Azerbaijan are reportedly home to journalists in the media that are currently in jail.
“Dozens of VOA staff in Washington are taking part in J-1 visas (non-immigrant visas that do not aim to encourage cultural exchange). If they lose them, they may have to return to a country where the government has a record of incarceration critics.” “Two Russian contractors on J-1 visas, which are scheduled to be officially fired at the end of March, are considered to be a significant risk if they are jailed back in Russia, according to VOA staff who know the situation.”
Ukrainian journalist Stanislav Asheyev shared in X’s post that he was tortured for writing for radio freedom after being said to be Russia’s “enemy.”
“Now, the ‘Russian enemy’ has been destroyed by America itself, and my torture seems futilely double,” he wrote.
A VOA employee who demanded that he remain anonymous for fear of retaliation told the Guardian: After the withdrawal from Afghanistan from the US in 2021, Afghan interpreters in the US were left behind and left behind and in danger while trying to obtain a special visa to escape to the US.
“If people who have been sacrificed for our country are thrown under the bus, that would be even greater shame. That’s a huge goal in terms of US foreign policy and US national interests,” they said.
Federal workers, journalists and unions filed a lawsuit against the US global media agency over the Trump administration’s closure of institutions last week, sought immediate relief to reverse it.
Donald Trump issued an executive order on March 14th to refund US global media agencies. Former TV anchor Kari Lake officially joined the Voice of America as a special advisor in late February 2025.
Lake lost the 2022 election for the governor of Arizona and the 2024 US Senate election in Arizona as a Republican candidate. She filed a lawsuit alleging that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from Trump, and that the 2022 election bid was also stolen from her. These cases were dismissed and her attorney was recently ordered by federal court to pay Maricopa County $122,000 in legal fees for a “frivolous” case.
In a press release, Lake accused the agency of “unable to rescue” and accused it of “a massive national security violation that involves spying and terrorist sympathizers and/or supporters.”
The US Department of State and the US agencies of Global Media did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
State Department spokesman Tammy Bruce was asked during a press conference on March 21 about the visas and immigration status of media workers.
