Trump Admin Reviewing ALL 55 Million People With Visas For Possible Deportation
(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
President Donald Trump’s State Department told the Associated Press on Thursday that it is reviewing all 55 million foreign visa holders in the United States for potential “revocation or deportable violations of immigration rules.” The State Department made the revelation in a written answer to a query from the news outlet’s Matthew Lee.
Lee, a veteran diplomatic reporter known for his pointed questions at State Department briefings, explained that “the department said it was looking for indicators of ineligibility, including visa overstays, criminal activity, threats to public safety, engaging in any form of terrorist activity, or providing support to a terrorist organization.”
On Tuesday, the State Department announced it had revoked over 6,000 student visas for a wide range of reasons, everything from overstays to visa holders getting DUIs. A State spokesperson claimed the “vast majority” of revocations were related to assault, DUI, burglary, and “support for terrorism.” They added that 4,000 of those who lost their visas had broken the law, while 200 to 300 visas were revoked over “support for terrorism.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the Trump administration made headlines earlier in the year when they moved to detain and deport Columbia student Mahmoud Khalil for his pro-Palestinian activism. Khalil has since been released and is suing the federal government.
Lee noted that “the review of all visa holders appears to be a significant expansion of what had initially been a re-vetting process focused mainly on students who have been involved in pro-Palestinian or anti-Israel activity.”
Many of Trump’s allies, including Steve Bannon, have long pushed for Trump to limit the number of foreign workers coming into the United States on H-1B visas — meant for high-skilled workers. Many economists and business leaders, including Elon Musk, have warned that a crackdown on H-1Bs would devastate the economy.
This is a developing story and has been updated.
