WASHINGTON — The State Department has revoked more than 175,000 U.S. visas since President Donald Trump returned to office, according to a new government tally that underscores the rapid expansion of his administration’s immigration-enforcement campaign.
The department said Monday that the visas belonged to foreign nationals who violated visa terms, committed crimes, called for violence against Americans, engaged in fraud, abused the immigration system or posed national-security concerns.
“A U.S. visa is a privilege, not a right,” the department said in its Aug. 10 fact sheet, adding that officials would continue to identify and investigate foreign nationals believed to threaten public safety.
According to the State Department, most of the revocations followed encounters with law enforcement. The leading categories involved assault, driving under the influence, theft and drug offenses. Officials also cited reckless driving, sexual assault, child abuse, fraud and embezzlement among the reasons visas were canceled.
The department highlighted several serious cases, including one foreign national charged with felony rape and sexual battery involving a mentally disabled victim, and another charged with felony kidnapping, human trafficking and the sexual exploitation of a minor. The government did not identify the individuals or say how those criminal cases were ultimately resolved.
The new tally also includes more than 100 visas revoked by a U.S. embassy in North Africa from parents accused of using so-called birth tourism to obtain American citizenship for children born in the United States, according to the department.
Fox News, which first reported the new figure, said the effort is being carried out under Secretary of State Marco Rubio as part of the administration’s broader “America First” approach to immigration and public safety.
Revocations climbed by at least 75,000 in seven months
The latest number marks a sharp increase from the more than 100,000 revocations the department reported in January. At that point, the total included roughly 8,000 student visas and 2,500 specialized visas involving people who had encounters with U.S. law enforcement, according to Reuters reporting published by Al-Monitor.
That means the administration says it revoked at least 75,000 additional visas in roughly seven months.
In January, State Department deputy spokesperson Tommy Pigott said the first 100,000 revocations represented a 150% increase over 2024. He attributed the leading causes at that stage to visa overstays, DUI offenses, assault and theft. Pigott also said the department had created a Continuous Vetting Center to flag visa holders who may no longer qualify to remain in good standing.
Monday’s announcement did not provide a new breakdown by visa category or nationality. It also did not specify how many cases involved arrests or charges rather than convictions—a distinction that earlier reporting raised when the administration disclosed thousands of canceled student visas.
Trump: Foreign visitors who cause trouble are not welcome
Trump has consistently cast tougher visa screening as a public-safety and national-security measure.
“We want to have great students here. We just don’t want students that are causing trouble,” Trump said in 2025 remarks later included in a White House fact sheet on foreign student visas.
In a December 2025 proclamation, Trump wrote that the United States must use “extreme vigilance” during visa and immigration screening to stop foreign nationals who intend to harm Americans or threaten the country’s interests.
The push traces back to a Jan. 20, 2025 executive order directing federal agencies to strengthen screening for people seeking admission to the United States and to continue vetting certain foreign nationals already in the country.
The State Department’s own guidance notes that a visa allows a foreign citizen to travel to a U.S. port of entry and request admission; it does not guarantee entry. Revoking one therefore removes the person’s ability to use that visa for future travel, although any separate question involving immigration status or removal from the country can require additional government action.
With the administration now claiming more than 175,000 revocations, Monday’s announcement makes clear that Trump and Rubio intend to keep visa enforcement at the center of the president’s second-term immigration agenda.
