The State Department has revoked more than 6,000 student visas this yr, a State Department official mentioned Monday, because the Trump administration continues its crackdown on some worldwide college students it says have damaged the legislation.
The visas have been revoked as a result of individuals had stayed after their visas expired or damaged the legislation, the official mentioned, noting that the “vast majority” of these authorized violations have been for instances of assault, driving beneath the affect, housebreaking, and “support for terrorism.”
According to the official, roughly 4,000 of the 6,000 visas have been revoked as a result of the visa holders “broke the law.”
Approximately 200 to 300 of these visas have been yanked for alleged terrorism beneath a part of the Immigration and Nationality Act that says that overseas nationals could also be inadmissible to the US “due to terrorist related activities.”
The 1000’s of revocations, first reported by Fox News, come because the Trump administration has undertaken aggressive actions in direction of universities and associated to student visas.
Administration officers have notably focused worldwide college students energetic in protests towards the warfare in Gaza, accusing these college students of antisemitism and of supporting terrorism.
In one excessive profile case, Tufts University PhD student Rumeysa Ozturk’s visa was canceled, and she or he was seized by masked federal brokers in March and put into ICE detention. A decide ordered her launch in May.
In June, the State Department advised its embassies and consulates it should vet student visa candidates for “hostile attitudes towards our citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles.” Applicants shall be requested to set their social media profiles to public as a part of the vetting, and a diplomatic cable famous that “limited access to, or visibility of, online presence could be construed as an effort to evade or hide certain activity.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has vigorously defended the Trump administration’s insurance policies on student visa revocation.
“There is no constitutional right to a student visa. A student visa is something we decide to give you,” he mentioned in an interview with EWTN in early August. “Visas of every kind are denied every day all over the world. As I speak to you now, someone’s visa application to the US is being denied. So, if I would have denied you a visa had I known something about you, and I find out afterwards that I gave you a visa and I found this out about you, why wouldn’t I be able to revoke your visa?”
According to the State Department, roughly 400,000 student visas, in any other case generally known as F1 visas, have been issued in fiscal yr 2024.
Far fewer are anticipated to be issued this calendar yr after new appointments have been quickly suspended, and the brand new vetting necessities have been put in place.
An evaluation by NAFSA: Association of International Educators and JB International forecast a possible 30–40 p.c decline in new worldwide student enrollment, contributing to a 15% drop in total enrollment this fall.
“Such an outcome would deprive local economies of $7 billion in spending and more than 60,000 jobs,” NAFSA mentioned in late July.
“Without significant recovery in visa issuance in July and August, up to 150,000 fewer students may arrive this fall,” it mentioned.