Palau and Marshall Islands politicians barred from entering US

11 February 2026

The US has barred Hokkons Baules and Anderson Jibas from entering the US because of their involvement in “corruption on behalf of China-based actors”.

• Mr Baules is the Palau Senate President. He has been banned from entry into the US because he “abused his public position by accepting bribes in exchange for providing advocacy and support for government, business, and criminal interests from China”.

• Mr Jibas is the former of the Kili/Bikini/Ejit community in the Marshall Islands. The US said during his time in office he orchestrated and financially benefited from multiple misappropriation schemes involving theft, misuse, and abuse of funds from the US-provided Bikini Resettlement Trust, which has created an “opportunity for malign foreign influence from China and others”.

Their immediate family members are subject to the same entry ban.

The ban is authorised under § 7031(c) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act 2024 (as carried forward by the 2026 Continuing Appropriations Act). § 7031(c) says foreign government officials involved in significant corruption or gross violations of human rights “shall be ineligible for entry into the United States”.