The United States government has revoked more than 250,000 visas since President Donald Trump assumed office, as his administration intensifies its immigration crackdown and expands vetting of people seeking entry into the country.
A State Department official, quoted by Fox News Digital, said the revocations covered various violations, including breaches of visa conditions, criminal offences, calls for violence against the US or Americans, fraud against Americans, abuse of the immigration system and actions considered a threat to national security.
The department specifically revoked 2,300 visas linked to birth tourism.
“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 cancelled the visas of 27 Latin American officials, former officials and their family members over corruption allegations. The affected officials are from Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.
Earlier in the summer, the Trump administration began preparations to revoke business and tourist visas held by up to 200,000 foreigners who had subsequently applied for asylum in the US.
The proposed measure targets B1 and B2 visas issued between 2016 and 2026 to foreign nationals 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 also said frivolous applications had overwhelmed the asylum system, potentially leaving cases pending for years before determining whether applicants qualified for protection in the US.
In August, the State Department announced that it had also revoked more than 175,000 visas. The agency said most of those cancellations followed encounters with law enforcement over various criminal activities, with assault, driving under the influence, theft and drug offences among the leading reasons.
The department added that a substantial number of visas were revoked over reckless driving, sexual assault, child abuse, fraud, embezzlement and other offences.