US revokes over 10,000 visas as Trump intensifies immigration crackdown
The United States has revoked more than 10,000 visas in recent months as President Donald Trump intensifies immigration enforcement following his return to the White House, the US State Department has said.
Officials described the surge in visa cancellations as part of a broader effort to tighten border controls and monitor foreign nationals more aggressively.
According to the State Department, over 100,000 visas have been revoked since Trump resumed office last year, a move the administration has framed as a “record-breaking achievement.”
The cancellations reportedly include around 800 student visas and 2,500 visas issued to specialised workers.
Officials said many revocations were linked to visa holders’ “encounters with law enforcement for criminal activity,” though it remains unclear whether these encounters resulted in formal charges or convictions.
The lack of clarity has raised concerns among civil liberties groups about transparency and due process.
Deputy State Department Spokesperson Tommy Pigott said the most common reasons for visa revocations were overstays, driving under the influence, assault, and theft, adding that the total marked a 150 per cent increase compared to 2024.
The department has also launched a Continuous Vetting Centre, aimed at ongoing monitoring of visa holders to ensure compliance with US laws, aiming at an overall push to restrict who is allowed into the country.
The State Department has ordered US diplomats in general to be vigilant against visa applicants whom Washington may see as hostile to the US or who have a history of political activism.
In a post on X, the State Department said, “We will continue to deport these thugs to keep America safe,” reflecting the administration’s hardline stance.
The government has also highlighted the deportation or voluntary departure of 2.5 million individuals since Trump’s return to office.
Critics, however, warn that the crackdown has led to the deportation of immigrants holding valid visas and allege human rights violations, including reports of shackling and inhumane detention conditions.
The administration has further expanded screening measures, including scrutiny of visa applicants’ social media activity.
The policy has drawn particular criticism over visa cancellations involving student protesters and political activists, raising concerns about free speech protections.
While the Trump administration insists the measures target criminals and threats to public safety, rights groups argue that non-criminal visa holders are increasingly being affected.
In November, the US State Department reported that it had cancelled about 80,000 non-immigrant visas since President Donald Trump returned to office, with revocations tied to offences ranging from driving under the influence to assault and theft. Trump, who pledged during his 2024 re-election campaign to oversee the “largest deportation programme of criminals in the history of America,” was sworn in for a second term on January 20, 2025.
They point to cases in which visas have been revoked in situations that appear to relate to political expression or activism rather than criminal conduct.
In March, the government moved to strip visas from student protesters involved in pro-Palestinian activism, including one student, Rumeysa Ozturk of Tufts University, who was reportedly targeted for writing an editorial in her campus newspaper.
In another instance last October, the State Department said it revoked visas of six foreign nationals who “celebrated” the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk online, stating that “the United States has no obligation to host foreigners who wish death on Americans.”
Widespread public anger in the US has also been fuelled by incidents of force used during the government’s immigration crackdown.
The fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, by a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Minneapolis has sparked protests nationwide, with demonstrators questioning the use of force amid heightened enforcement operations.
