The Department of State has thus far revoked approximately 175,000 visas from foreign nationals found to be violating the terms of their entry, according to its own reports.The State Department announced the data point on Monday, asserting that the majority of these revocations were carried out against foreign nationals found to have committed a crime while in the United States.“The majority of these visas 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,” the department said. “A significant share of visas were revoked for reckless driving, sexual assault, child abuse, fraud and embezzlement, and other crimes.”
Chinese students wait outside the U.S. Embassy in Beijing for their visa application interviews on May 2, 2012. (Alexander F. Yuan/AP Photo, file)
“The State Department has revoked visas from criminals who posed a danger to American citizens, endorsed violence against Americans, arranged illegal birth tourism schemes, or engaged in fraud,” the statement continued.The State Department offered a list of examples of recent deportations of foreign nationals, including “multiple foreign nationals who celebrated the assassination of Charlie Kirk.”The administration has paid particular attention to the problem of birth tourism, which Trump decried last month as a fundamental threat to national sovereignty amid the Supreme Court debate over birthright citizenship.The report highlighted a previously known bust-up of a scheme in North Africa that catered to parents “who came to the United States primarily to give birth so their children would get U.S. citizenship.”Several cases listed by the State Department withheld names but were immediately recognizable as high-profile deportation cases in the news. One such example is Tou Lue Vang, a Laotian national who was pardoned by Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) earlier this year for his 2005 conviction of child sexual abuse. The Department of Homeland Security ignored that pardon and deported Vang last month.“A U.S. visa is a privilege, not a right. The Department remains committed to using every tool available to protect our communities from those who abuse it,” the State Department said. “The Department remains committed to using every tool available to protect our communities from those who abuse it.”In addition to targeted deportations, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers have set up shop at airports across the country to screen for foreign nationals who have stayed in the country beyond their visa.TRUMP ADMINISTRATION FACES GROWING BACKLOG IN LEGAL IMMIGRATION APPLICATIONSAt the same time that the administration is cracking down on visa holders, it is dramatically reducing the number of certain visas distributed.From May to August last year, Chinese applicants received 46% fewer F-1 student visas from the State Department compared to the same period in 2017, according to the Center for Immigration Studies. Similar visas for Indian applicants were down 60%.
