Let me speak clearly this week, especially to our young people, those applying for US visas, those holding green cards, and those who believe that permanent residency means permanent immunity. Whether you are sitting in Kingston dreaming of boarding a flight or you are already in Miami working two jobs and sending money home, understand this, your social media activity is now part of your biometric profile as far as the United States Government is concerned.

Biometrics no longer mean just your fingerprints or your photograph. They include your digital footprints, your comments, your re-tweets, your likes and shares, your TikToks, your YouTube subscriptions, and even the old Facebook statuses from a decade ago that you may have forgotten.

As US immigration authorities continue to tighten their systems of border control they are increasingly looking to these digital traces to assess character, world view, and perceived alignment with the values they seek to protect.

Since 2019, the United States has required almost all visa applicants to submit their social media handles for review, going back five years. This information is not gathered casually, nor is it for demographic research. It is part of a serious, structured evaluation of the character and ideological positioning of applicants.

The Department of Homeland Security and the State Department have systems in place, both automated and human-led, to examine public online content in order to determine who might pose a security risk, whose beliefs may be deemed incompatible with American values, and who fits the evolving profile of a future resident or citizen.

Fifty years ago the world was divided along clear ideological lines between East and West. Countries took public positions, some aligned with the United States, others with the Soviet Union, some supported or resisted apartheid. Those alliances were formal, governmental, and often debated openly. But that was before globalisation changed the way people and capital moved. Today, we are in a very different world. There is a war in Ukraine, trade tensions between global powers, a rebalancing of geopolitical alliances, and shifting rules of diplomacy. These changes are not happening in boardrooms alone. They are playing out in real time, across newsfeeds, trending hashtags, livestreamed protests, and spontaneous online commentary. In this climate, opinions are not just opinions, they are data points, and they are being watched.

But let us be clear, countries, including the United States, have every right to protect their borders, their values, and their sense of national identity. Social media pages grow up with people. Over time they become a living record of how you think, what you value, what you find funny, what makes you angry, who you admire, and what you fear. It is a modern reflection of character. And countries, like people, are entitled to choose the kind of characters they associate with. There is nothing inherently wrong with that. Every country has rules, standards, and expectations. This is not an attack on freedom; it is a reminder of sovereignty.

What this means for Jamaicans is simple but deeply significant. You are being watched. Not in a sinister way, but in a deliberate and strategic way. Your likes are being noted. Your comments are being interpreted. Your opinions are being archived, sometimes without context, and sorted into risk profiles that may impact your ability to enter or remain in the United States. If you do not hold a US passport, your digital presence is no longer just personal, it is part of a public file, and you may not even be aware of how it is being used.

The US immigration system is no longer purely about documentation. It is now just as much about perception. It is not only about whether you have overstayed a visa or filed your paperwork correctly, it is also about whether you appear to represent the kind of individual the country wishes to welcome. The criteria may seem abstract, but the consequences are real.

And here, in Jamaica, our silence is costing us. Neither the Government nor the Opposition has said much, if anything, about this quiet shift in how immigration is evaluated in the Digital Age. In a country where migration has long been considered a strategy for family advancement and economic progress, it is surprising that no clear public guidance has been given to our young people. We cannot afford to remain uninformed while the rules are changing.

Too many are unaware that a single re-tweet criticising a US foreign policy decision, a meme poking fun at political figures, or an
Instagram story showing support for a controversial protest can be interpreted not as personal expression, but as a sign of misalignment with American values. Again, this is not necessarily a matter of right or wrong; it is a matter of reality. This is now part of US foreign policy, and border control no longer stops at Customs. It now begins on your phone.

This does not mean you should live in fear, but it does mean you must live with awareness, discernment, and emotional intelligence. There is a difference between censorship and strategy. You are not silencing yourself, you are protecting your future. If your desire is to travel to the United States as a visitor, or to become a permanent resident, you are not yet protected by the full rights of the US Constitution. And even after citizenship, as many naturalised citizens have discovered, old tweets and online behaviour can still be revisited and reviewed when questions of integrity arise.

If you are a social media influencer, creative artist, youth leader, or diaspora advocate, it is time to speak up about this in a balanced way. It is not enough to encourage young people to “speak their truth” without also preparing them for the weight that truth can carry when spoken in a world governed by quiet surveillance and rapid digital judgement. We can no longer pretend that online life and real life are separate worlds, especially when decisions as important as immigration status are being shaped by digital behaviour.

Let us be smart. Let us be measured. Let us understand the power of silence as much as we understand the power of speech. For those of you without a US passport, let this be your caution: Keep scrolling. Do not press like. Do not comment. Watch everything, say little unless it is intentional, thoughtful, and diplomatic. Your silence might save your dream. Your spontaneity might cancel it.

The choice is yours. Choose wisely.

Lisa Hanna is Member of Parliament for St Ann South Eastern, People’s National Party spokesperson on foreign affairs and foreign trade, and a former Cabinet member

Lisa Hanna