The U.S. Department of State said on Nov. 6 that 80,000 visas have been revoked.
The State Department did not offer more details regarding the revocations. The administration has maintained a conservative stance on approving visas for foreigners and has swiftly canceled visa privileges of temporary residents, including students, based on actions concerning national security.
“The United States has no obligation to host foreigners who wish death on Americans,” the department said, adding that it “continues to identify visa holders who celebrated the heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk.”
The Trump administration has also reduced the number of nonimmigrant visas issued to foreign nationals.
The visas are issued to foreign citizens on a temporary basis for tourism, business, medical treatment, and certain types of temporary work, while immigrant visas are for people who intend to live and work permanently in the country.
Student Visa Vetting
In late May, the State Department ordered U.S. embassies to pause student visa interviews in an effort to strengthen the vetting process, especially concerning the screening of applicants’ social media accounts.
“We take very seriously the process of vetting who it is that comes into the country,” then-State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce told reporters at the time.
“Coming to the United States on a visa is a privilege, not a right,” Rubio said. “The Trump Administration is determined to deny or revoke your visa if you’re here to support terrorists.”
He made the comments amid a rise in student protests on college campuses across the country.
Such a “continued assault” on students’ free speech and institutions of higher education undermines the principles of American democracy, she said, adding that students must not feel afraid or powerless because of their immigration status.
“We are deeply disturbed by the Trump administration’s revocation of student visas without justification or explanation,” Fahy said. “The Constitution guarantees fundamental rights and due process to all people, not just U.S. citizens. History tells us that although persecution often begins with attacks on immigrant communities, it rarely ends there, which begs the question: Who is next?”
Rubio also announced that the administration would begin revoking visas for students from China, including those with any links to the Chinese Communist Party.
The Chinese communist regime has been accused of monitoring and mobilizing students abroad for the purposes of carrying out CCP directives and spreading its propaganda.
“Even as we take action to reject censorship at home, we see troubling instances of foreign governments and foreign officials picking up the slack. In some instances, foreign officials have taken flagrant censorship actions against U.S. tech companies and U.S. citizens and residents when they have no authority to do so,” the State Department said in a May 28 statement.
Employers must now pay a one-time fee of $100,000 for visas to hire a foreign worker under the H-1B program.
