Aug 10 (Reuters) – The U.S. State Department said on Monday it has revoked more than 175,000 visas from foreign nationals under President Donald Trump’s administration, as it continues a sweeping immigration crackdown that has stripped travel and immigration privileges from tens of thousands more people.
The department said in a statement the revocations targeted foreigners who “violated the terms of their visas, committed crimes, called for violence against U.S. citizens, defrauded Americans, abused our immigration system, or endangered national security.”
Most visas were revoked following “law enforcement encounters,” with assault, driving under the influence, theft and drug crimes the leading causes, the department said.
Specific cases cited by the department include a person charged with felony rape and sexual battery, another charged with kidnapping and human trafficking, and a person facing more than a dozen counts of possessing child sexual abuse material. A U.S. embassy in North Africa revoked more than 100 visas from “birth tourist” parents who allegedly came to the U.S. primarily to give birth so their children would receive U.S. citizenship, it said.
The department also said it had revoked the visas of multiple foreigners who “celebrated” the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, including one who said he “died too late.”
In January, the department said it had revoked more than 100,000 visas, a record at the time.
The extent of the revocations reflects the broad immigration crackdown initiated when Trump returned to the White House last year, deporting an unprecedented number of migrants including some who held valid visas. The administration has also adopted a stricter policy on granting visas, with tightened social media vetting and expanded screening.
Rights advocates and human rights experts have condemned the Trump administration’s social media screening efforts, which they say threaten free speech and are akin to surveillance and singling out of immigrants.
(Reporting by Ryan Patrick Jones in Toronto; Editing by Andrea Ricci )
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