The US State Department has revoked more than 175,000 visas from foreign nationals under President Donald Trump, according to a department fact sheet released on Monday. Most cancellations followed law-enforcement encounters involving criminal activity.
The department also cited visa violations, fraud, calls for violence and other threats to national security as reasons for revocations. It said the cancellations resulted from continuous vetting intended to ensure visa holders follow the terms of their visas and do not endanger Americans.
What the State Department cited
The leading reasons included assault, driving under the influence, theft and drug offences. The department also identified cases involving allegations or charges including felony rape and sexual battery, kidnapping and human trafficking, and more than a dozen counts of possessing child sexual abuse material.
More than 100 visas were revoked by a US embassy in North Africa from parents described as “birth tourists” who allegedly travelled primarily to give birth so their children would receive US citizenship.
How the revocations fit the crackdown
The State Department said some cancellations involved foreign nationals who celebrated the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, including people whose statements praised or appeared to justify his death.
In January, the department said it had revoked more than 100,000 visas, which it described as a record at that time. The latest figure indicates that the revocation campaign has continued to expand.
What happens next
The administration said it would continue identifying and investigating foreign nationals it believes threaten US safety or national security. It described a US visa as a privilege rather than a right and said it would use available authorities to revoke visas from people who abuse that privilege.
The administration has also tightened visa-granting procedures through stricter social media vetting and expanded screening. Rights advocates and human rights experts have condemned those efforts, saying they threaten free speech and amount to surveillance and the singling out of immigrants.
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