By Nkiruka Nnorom
The US government said it has revoked more than 250,000 visas since President Donald Trump took office, as the administration continues its immigration crackdown and increases vetting of those eligible to enter the country.
The revocations involved a variety of violations, including visa holders who violated the terms of their visas, committed crimes, called for violence against the U.S or Americans, defrauded Americans, abused the immigration system, and endangered national security, a State Department official quoted by Fox News Digital said.
Specifically, 2,300 visas connected with birth tourism were revoked.
“Under President Trump and Secretary Rubio, the State Department has now revoked more than 250,000 visas — a historic milestone that reflects our unwavering commitment to protecting the American people.
“Every visa decision is a national security decision. Through continuous vetting on a scale never seen before, we are identifying and removing those who commit crimes, support terrorism, defraud Americans, or abuse our immigration system,” State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said.
“A U.S visa is a privilege, not a right and if you violate the terms of that privilege, you will lose it. We will not stop until every foreign national who threatens the safety of our communities is held accountable,” Pigott added
On Monday, the State Department revoked the visas of 27 Latin American officials, former officials, and their families over accusations of corruption. The officials are from Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.
Over the summer, the Trump administration began preparing to revoke business and tourist visas held by as many as 200,000 foreigners who have applied for asylum in the U.S.
The effort would target B1 and B2 visas issued between 2016 and 2026 to foreigners who later sought asylum. At the time, Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau said Americans were fed up with bogus asylum claims.
“Asylum isn’t supposed to be a loophole to circumvent immigration laws; rather, it’s supposed to provide a narrow safe harbour for persons persecuted because of their ‘race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion,’” he wrote on X at the time.
Landau noted that frivolous claims have swamped the system, which could take years to adjudicate whether applicants were entitled to asylum in the U.S.
In August, the State Department also revoked more than 175,000 visas. The majority of those were revoked due to law enforcement encounters for a range of criminal activity, with assault, driving under the influence, theft and drug crimes being the leading causes.
A significant share of visas were revoked for reckless driving, sexual assault, child abuse, fraud and embezzlement and other crimes, the agency said.
The post Trump admin revokes over 250,000 visas in broad immigration crackdown appeared first on Vanguard News.