Matthew Lee | Associated Press

The State Department said Wednesday it had instructed consular officers to halt immigrant visa applications from the countries affected in accordance with a broader order issued in November that tightened rules around potential immigrants who might become "public charges" in the U.S.

Weaning Caribbean countries from their dependence on Venezuelan oil and combating illegal immigration will top Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s tour of the Caribbean this week.

Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo says his country will accept migrants from other countries who are being deported from the United States. Under the agreement announced Wednesday by Arévalo, the deportees would be returned to their home countries at U.S. expense.