- Over 6,000 visas were revoked by the Trump administration in a crackdown on illegal immigration
- Around 4,000 visas were cancelled due to criminal offences like assault, DUI, and burglary
- About 200 to 300 visas were revoked on terrorism-related grounds under State Department rules
In a renewed crackdown on illegal immigration in the United States, President Donald Trump's administration has revoked over 6,000 visas, the State Department said on Monday. The move comes days after three people were killed after a semi-truck driver, an illegal immigrant, attempted a wrong U-turn on the Florida turnpike, resulting in the trailer jackknifing and colliding with a minivan.
The Department of Homeland Security said the Sikh man, identified as Harjinder Singh from India, was issued a commercial driver's license by the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), despite his illegal status. The finding gave DHS ammunition to target Democrats for aiding illegal immigration in America. "How many more innocent people have to die before Gavin Newsom stops playing games with the safety of the American public,' DHS posted.
Who Was Targeted
Among the visas cancelled by the Trump administration, around 4,000 were because the visitors broke the law, with the vast majority being for assault, according to officials.
Driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs and burglary were other offences that resulted in visa cancellations.
About 200 to 300 visas were also revoked on grounds of terrorism. The permits per cancelled, citing a rule about visa ineligibility under the State Department's Foreign Affairs Manual. The rule identifies ineligibility grounds generally as "engaging in terrorist activities" and "having certain links to terrorist organisations."
While the Trump administration did not specify what they meant by "support for terrorism", the DHS has targeted some students who have protested in support of Palestine. The government has argued that student visa and green card holders are subject to deportation over their support for Palestinians and criticism of Israel's conduct in the war in Gaza, calling their actions a threat to US foreign policy and accusing them of being pro-Hamas and antisemitic.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said he has revoked the visas of hundreds, perhaps thousands of people, including students, because they got involved in activities which he said went against US foreign policy priorities.
Why Students Targeted
Since coming to power, the Trump administration has adopted a particularly hard-line approach toward student visas as part of its immigration crackdown, tightening social media vetting and expanding screening.
Directives from the State Department this year have ordered US diplomats abroad to be vigilant against any applicants whom Washington may see as hostile to the United States and with a history of political activism.
State Department officials have also been asked to screen for those "who advocate for, aid, or support designated foreign terrorists and other threats to national security; or who perpetrate unlawful anti-Semitic harassment or violence".
President Donald Trump has clashed with several top-level U.S. universities, accusing them of becoming bastions of antisemitism following large-scale student protests advocating for Palestinian rights amid the Gaza war. In his clash with Harvard, Trump has frozen funding for investigations and threatened to remove the university's tax-exempt status, prompting several European nations to increase research grants to attract talent.
Trump's critics have called the effort an attack on free speech rights under the First Amendment of the US Constitution.
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