The Trump administration has revoked 85,000 visas of all categories since January, more than double the number pulled last year, according to a State Department official.

The high number of revocations, which includes more than 8,000 student visas, come amid a broader push by the Trump administration to both target immigrants within the United States and limit who can come to the country.

The department official said Monday that offenses like driving under the influence, assaults, and theft accounted for “almost half of the revocations in the past year.” They did not detail the reasons for the other half of the visa revocations this year, however, the department has previously also pointed to visa expirations and “support for terrorism” in justifying pulling visas.

The revocations have raised some First Amendment concerns, as administration officials have particularly targeted international students active in protests against the war in Gaza, accusing those students of antisemitism and of supporting terrorism, and the State Department said in October it had revoked some visas from those who allegedly “celebrated” Charlie Kirk’s murder.

The latest numbers come after a State Department official said in August that the agency planned to implement a policy of “continuous vetting” of “all of the more than 55 million foreigners” who held valid US visas.

“The State Department revokes visas any time there are indications of a potential ineligibility, which includes things like any indicators of overstays, criminal activity, threats to public safety, engaging in any form of terrorist activity, or providing support to a terrorist organization,” that official said at the time.

“We review all available information as part of our vetting, including law enforcement or immigration records or any other information that comes to light after visa issuance indicating a potential ineligibility,” they said.

Under President Donald Trump’s second term, the State Department significantly broadened the criteria under which visa applicants can be scrutinized or denied a visa.

The State Department, under the terms outlined in a diplomatic cable last week, can deny visas to those who worked on things like content moderation and fact-checking as part of an “enhanced vetting” of H1-B visas for highly skilled workers, according to Reuters. It comes after Secretary of State Marco Rubio in May announced a policy to restrict visas from foreign nationals who “censor” Americans.

In June, the State Department told its embassies and consulates they must vet student visa applicants for “hostile attitudes towards our citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles.” Under the new guidance, applicants are asked to set their social media profiles to public as part of the vetting, and a diplomatic cable noted that “limited access to, or visibility of, online presence could be construed as an effort to evade or hide certain activity.”

Rubio has vigorously defended the Trump administration’s policies on student visa revocation.

In addition to the State Department’s visa denial and revocation policies, the Department of Homeland Security has carried out aggressive detention and deportation campaigns. The administration has essentially frozen refugee resettlement and said it will review all refugees who entered under the Biden administration.

Earlier this year, the administration restricted travel to the US from 19 countries. CNN reported last week that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is recommending the list increase to between 30 to 32 countries, according to a source, in the wake of a shooting in Washington, DC, of two National Guard members. The suspect in that shooting is an Afghan national. (CNN)

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