Trump Administration Revokes Over 3,00,000 US Visas As Crackdown Accelerates

The Trump administration has revoked over 3,00,000 US visas during President Donald Trump’s second term, the State Department stated on Tuesday. That marks a sharp rise in cancellations in recent weeks. The latest count is well above the department’s August 10 update, which put revocations since January 2025 at over 1,75,000.

State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott announced the latest figure on X and framed it as part of a wider immigration crackdown. Pigott said the administration "has revoked more visas at a faster pace than any administration in history." He also said the administration had "zero tolerance for foreigners here on visas who break the law, commit fraud, or undermine our national security."

Trump has argued that his immigration crackdown and deportation drive are meant to improve domestic security. The new number also adds to evidence that the pace of visa revocations has increased since the start of 2026. The administration has tightened scrutiny of both visa holders and applicants.

Rights Groups Pushback

Rights advocates have criticised the policy on legal and civil liberties grounds. They say the crackdown has violated due process and free speech rights and created an unsafe environment, especially for ethnic minorities that have raised concerns about racial profiling.

Some revocations have drawn particular criticism. These include cancellations affecting pro-Palestinian foreign protesters demonstrating against US ally Israel’s attacks on Gaza and foreigners targeted over their social media comments about conservative commentator Charlie Kirk’s assassination.

The checks now reach further. Alongside efforts to deport foreign protesters, the Trump administration has stepped up social media vetting for immigrants and visa applicants. Rights advocates say officials have invoked national security to go after critics and have turned isolated fraud cases into a wider dragnet for immigrant groups, including the Somali American community in Minnesota. They also say Trump promised in 2024 to stop illegal immigration, but his administration has made legal entry harder by adding steep fees for some work visas.

The New York Post also reported the size of the crackdown. It said more than 3,00,000 visas have been cancelled since Trump returned to office in January last year, including at least 4,000 tied to people accused of engaging in or facilitating birth tourism. A State Department official told the newspaper the cancellations stemmed from criminal activity, risks to public safety and immigration breaches, including fraud and misrepresentation.

The State Department has not yet released the nationalities of the people whose visas were cancelled, the newspaper reported.

The figure is higher than last month’s tally, when the department said as many as 2,50,000 visas had been cancelled since January 2025. The New York Post reported that revocations picked up in 2026 after the Bureau of Consular Affairs examined 23,000 cases last year. Pigott also said, "With over 300,000 revocations, the Trump administration has revoked more visas at a faster pace than any administration in history."

Criminal offences accounted for a large share of revocations in 2025, according to The New York Post. About 25% of the visas cancelled that year involved assault or related crimes. Another 22% were revoked for driving under the influence, while theft accounted for 7% and substance abuse or distribution for a further 7%.

The administration has pointed to crime, immigration breaches and national security risks as reasons for cancelling visas. Pigott added that it would continue targeting foreign nationals who break the law or raise security concerns while in the US on visas.