Trump Administration Revokes 100,000 Visas, Including 8,000 Student Visas

Illustration of US immigration. (Source: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement)

WASHINGTON - The US State Department on Monday announced it had revoked more than 100,000 visas, including 8,000 student visas, from people who had "engaged with law enforcement" since President Donald Trump returned to office.

Deputy Foreign Office spokesman Tommy Piggott said the figure was a "record and an increase of more than 150 per cent in removals".

"The State Department revoked visas from thousands of foreign nationals who were charged or convicted of crimes, including assault, theft, and driving under the influence of alcohol," he said, launching The National (13/1).

"The Trump administration will continue to put America first and protect our country from foreign nationals who pose a risk to public safety or national security," he continued.

In a post on X accompanied by a picture of President Trump dancing, the State Department said: "We will continue to deport these criminals to keep America safe."

Since returning to office in January last year, President Trump has deployed federal immigration enforcement agents to cities across the country. The stated goal is to detain and deport people living in the US illegally and who have committed violent crimes, but many people with no criminal record have also been arrested in raids.

Last month, the government stopped or restricted the entry of citizens from 19 countries, including Afghanistan, Syria and Venezuela, into the Uncle Sam's country, because they were considered high-risk due to lack of inspections or staying beyond the validity of the visa.

Also in December, the State Department said those coming to the US on a visa waiver would be subject to a five-year review of their social media activity.

In September, the government imposed a fee of 100,000 US dollars on companies that filed new H-1B visa petitions to bring in workers from abroad.

Last summer, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US would seek to revoke the visas of students involved in campus protests against the war in Gaza.

US media reported that the government is seeking to revoke the citizenship of several naturalized Americans. The New York Times, citing leaked documents, said immigration enforcement staff have been asked to handle "100-200 cases of revocation of citizenship per month" this year.

Meanwhile, late last year the government launched a new "gold card" that provides a faster path for wealthy immigrants to gain citizenship with a payment of 1 million US dollars to the US Government.