The US State Department says it revoked over 100,000 visas in a single year, a record figure since President Trump’s return to office.
WASHINGTON: The United States has revoked more than 100,000 visas since President Donald Trump’s return to office, a record for a single year.
State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott stated the Trump administration’s highest priority is protecting American citizens and upholding sovereignty.
The figure since Trump’s second inauguration on January 20, 2025, is two and a half times the number revoked in 2024.
The State Department said “thousands” of the visas were revoked over crimes, which can include assault and drunk driving.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has highlighted his revocation of visas from students who protested against Israel.
Rubio used a McCarthy-era law to block entry to foreigners seen as opposing US foreign policy, though some targets successfully challenged deportation orders.
The State Department confirmed 8,000 of the revoked visas were for students.
The administration has also tightened visa vetting, including screening applicants’ social media postings.
These revocations are part of a wider campaign of mass deportations carried out by a surge of federal agents.
The Department of Homeland Security said last month the administration has deported more than 605,000 people.
It added that 2.5 million others left the country on their own.
