U.S. revokes visas for 6,000 students, U.S. State Department says

The department told the BBC that the State Department has revoked more than 6,000 international student visas.

The agency said the “overwhelming majority” of the offences were attacks, driving under influence (DUI), burglary and “support for terrorism.”

The move comes as the Trump administration continues to crack down on immigrants and international students.

Although the State Department did not specify the meaning of “support for terrorism,” the Trump administration’s goal is to protest against support for Palestinian students, who believe they expressed anti-Semitism.

Of the 6,000 student visas that were revoked, the State Department said about 4,000 of them were revoked for visitors’ violations of the law.

The State Department said another 200-300 visa was also revoked for “terrorism under INA 3B”, referring to the code that defines “terrorist activities” as an act that endangers human life or violates U.S. law.

Earlier this year, the Trump administration stopped arranging visa appointments for international students. In June, when they restarted their appointments, they announced that they would ask all applicants to make their social media accounts public for enhanced screening.

They said they would seek “any sign of hostility towards citizens, culture, government, institutions, or American principles.”

State Department officials have also been directed to screen those “those who advocate, assist or support designated foreign terrorists and threats to national security; or who commit illegal anti-Semitism harassment or violence.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio told lawmakers in May that he estimated that “thousands of student visas” had been revoked since January.

Rubio told our lawmakers on May 20. “We will continue to revoke visas for people who are here as guests and destroy our higher education facilities.”

Democrats oppose Trump’s administration’s efforts to revoke student visas, describing it as an attack on due process.

According to organizations that collect data on foreign students, more than 1.1 million international students from U.S. universities from 2023-24 academic year were admitted to U.S. universities in the 2023-24 academic year.