US revokes over 6,000 student visas over crime, terror ties
The United States State Department on Monday said it has revoked more than 6,000 student visas in 2025 due to violations, including overstays, criminal behaviour, and support for terrorism, Fox News Digital reported.
The roughly 6,000 visas that were pulled were primarily due to visa overstays or encounters with the law, including assault, DUIs, burglary and support for terrorism, the State Department told Fox News Digital.
“Every single student visa revoked under the Trump administration has happened because the individual has either broken the law or expressed support for terrorism while in the United States.
“About 4,000 visas alone have been revoked because these visitors broke the law while visiting our country, including records of assault and DUIs,” a senior State Department official said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
The administration’s aggressive visa enforcement policy also extends to individuals linked to political demonstrations, particularly pro-Palestinian protests.
Secretary of State, Marco Rubio announced in May that the department was reviewing the visa status of students who had taken part in such protests.
“We’re going to continue to revoke the visas of people who are here as guests and are disrupting our higher education facilities. I don’t know the latest count, but we probably have more to do”, Rubio said during a May 20 appearance before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations.
The State Department reported that around 800 student visas were revoked for individuals arrested or charged with assault.
Another 200 to 300 were pulled due to ties to terrorism, including cases where students were accused of raising funds for Hamas, a group the U.S. designates as a terrorist organisation.
Altogether, the State Department told Fox News Digital that approximately 40,000 visas have been pulled in 2025, in comparison to the 16,000 that were revoked during the same time frame under the Biden administration.
“Even if the previous administration was doing less, they were still revoking visas. It’s not something that just started on January 20 … So this has happened for years”, the State Department official said.
Critics, however, argue the policy undermines civil liberties and targets foreign students unfairly.
“I do think it’s a fundamental attack on freedom,” said Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) during the same May 20 hearing.
“Due process is the guardian of the gate to keep a government from taking away people’s life or liberty, and liberty is what happens when you take away a visa without due process.”
The crackdown on student visas followed several executive orders signed by President Donald Trump in January, focused on combatting terrorism, anti-Semitism, and enhancing national security.
One of the orders instructs federal agencies to “vet and screen to the maximum degree possible all aliens” entering or currently in the US, especially those from regions considered security threats.
Another executive directive requires the government to use “all available and appropriate legal tools” to prosecute or remove individuals involved in antisemitic violence or harassment.
Student visas allow individuals from outside the United States to study at accredited institutions for a fixed period. Unlike green cards, they do not offer permanent residency status.
