Support for NPR comes from NPR member stations and Eric and Wendy Schmidt through the Schmidt Family Foundation,

working toward a healthy, resilient, secure world for all. On the web at theshmit.org.

Live from NPR News, I'm Janine Hurst. Homeland Security Secretary Christy Noam says the U.S. Coast Guard,

supported by the Defense Department, seized a second merchant vessel off the coast of Venezuela

in international waters early today. In a post on social media, Nome says the U.S. will continue

to pursue the illicit movement of sanctioned oil that she says is used to fund

narco-terrorism. This comes just days after President Trump announced a blockade of all

sanctioned oil tankers coming in and out of the South American country. It also follows the

seizure of an oil tanker off Venezuela's coast by American forces last week. Apple and Google are telling employees on visas

not to leave the U.S. I mean the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. As NPR's

Bobby Allen reports, the companies say delays in embassies and consulates could leave workers stranded.

In internal memos reviewed by NPR that Apple and Google recently sent to employees,

the message is clear.

If you're on a visa and can avoid leaving the country, you should do that.

And that's because of reports that some visa holders are having renewal appointments canceled,

leaving them stuck in their home countries for months.

The Trump administration's recently increased vetting for visa applications

includes a review of up to five years of an applicant's social media history. That has caused

long delays and cancellations over what used to be routine visa appointments. Apple and Google,

which together employ more than 300,000 people, both rely heavily on highly skilled foreign-born workers.

The companies and the White House declined to comment.

Bobby Allen and PR News.

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