The administration of United States President Donald Trump has revoked more than 300,000 visas issued to foreign nationals, with the State Department claiming the figure represents the fastest pace of visa cancellations by any administration.
The department disclosed this in an email to Al Jazeera on Tuesday, October 20, saying the measures were aimed at protecting the country’s borders and national security.
“We are taking, and will continue to take, action to keep our borders, and our nation, secure,” the State Department said.
According to a department official, most of the visa revocations were linked to criminal activities, public safety concerns, immigration violations, fraud, misrepresentation or information suggesting that the holders were no longer eligible to remain in the country on their visas.
The official said more than 4,000 visas were withdrawn from foreign nationals who allegedly participated in or facilitated birth tourism, a practice in which individuals travel to another country to give birth so their children can obtain citizenship under its laws.
The department also provided a breakdown of some of the offences associated with the cancellations.
It said 25 per cent of the relevant revocations involved assault and related crimes, while 22 per cent were linked to driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
The official added that theft accounted for seven per cent of the revocations, while another seven per cent involved substance abuse or distribution.
Earlier on Tuesday, State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said the government had targeted foreign nationals whose conduct violated the law, involved fraud or raised national security concerns.
“We have zero tolerance for foreigners here on visas who break the law, commit fraud or undermine our national security,” Pigott wrote in a post on X.
The latest figure marks a significant increase from previous announcements by the administration.
In August, the State Department reported that more than 175,000 visas had been revoked, following an earlier announcement in January that over 100,000 visas had been cancelled.
The Trump administration has also tightened visa screening procedures, including increased scrutiny of applicants’ social media activities and expanded background checks.
However, the measures have attracted criticism from rights advocates and experts, who argue that social media screening could threaten freedom of expression, increase surveillance and expose immigrants to discriminatory treatment.
The latest revocations form part of the administration’s broader efforts to tighten immigration enforcement and strengthen restrictions on foreign nationals entering or remaining in the United States.
