Thousands Lose Foreign Student Visas Under Trump’s Zero-Tolerance Crackdown

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More than 4,000 foreign student visas have been revoked by the State Department during the first 100 days of President Donald Trump’s second term. According to a senior State Department official, approximately 90% of these students had serious criminal records, ranging from assault and robbery to trafficking and domestic abuse. The move is part of what Secretary of State Marco Rubio describes as a zero-tolerance crackdown on foreign student visa holders who break U.S. laws.

The official emphasized that these visa revocations were based on confirmed violations of U.S. law. “Our visa system has lacked oversight and accountability,” the official told Fox News Digital. “Over the past 100 days, the Trump administration has worked to fix a broken system.” Using law enforcement databases, the State Department coordinated with the Department of Homeland Security to vet more than a million student visa holders for criminal records. Over 500 students were flagged for violent assault charges alone.

Sweeping Reform or Unlawful Overreach?

Critics argue that the administration’s approach is not as surgical as it claims. According to court filings obtained by Politico, the initiative, called the “Student Criminal Alien Initiative,” relied heavily on rapid database matches, sometimes with no case-by-case review. ICE and DHS officials reportedly matched over 6,400 foreign students to law enforcement records but made revocation decisions on as many as 3,000 cases within 24 hours of internal communications with the State Department.

Federal judges have issued more than 100 restraining orders against these actions, citing lack of due process. In one court hearing, U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes described the initiative as a non-process process, rebuking the administration for canceling visas without notifying the affected students or giving them a chance to respond.

Reyes also criticized the use of federal resources, questioning why entire teams were reassigned to a project that resulted in students being barred from campuses or threatened with deportation, often for minor offenses like reckless driving or dismissed charges.

Political Momentum Behind a Policy Shift

Despite legal challenges, the Trump administration is doubling down on its position. Rubio has repeatedly argued that foreign students are in the country to come and study and get a degree, not to create a ruckus. He specifically cited student protestors who vandalize public property or disrupt university operations, declaring that student visas are not a birthright but a privilege.

The administration also confirmed that hundreds of additional visa revocations are tied to students involved in anti-Israel protests on campuses in recent weeks. The visa enforcement campaign aligns with Trump’s broader immigration stance, which has emphasized deportation and visa cancellation for any non-citizen who violates American laws or engages in disruptive conduct.

The Fallout for Universities and Students

Many of the impacted students came from Asia and the Middle East. Some have already left the U.S., while others are in deportation proceedings. Affected universities, including the University of Minnesota and the University of Massachusetts, have acknowledged the removals, often noting that students were barred from attending classes due to revoked status.

In one case, a graduate student was expelled from his program after a DUI charge triggered a visa cancellation. Attorneys for other students have argued that many of the flagged offenses never led to convictions, and in some cases, the charges were dropped altogether.

Still, the administration insists that every visa revocation went through interagency vetting and was limited to individuals deemed a threat to public safety. The State Department continues to reject calls for transparency on the exact numbers or vetting criteria, citing ongoing reviews.

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