US says all 55 million visas subject to review

The US State Department has said that all 55 million foreigners holding visas for the United States are subject to continuous review, as President Donald Trump intensifies his crackdown on visas and immigration.

"The Department's continuous vetting includes all of the more than 55 million foreigners who currently hold valid US visas," a State Department official said on Thursday.

"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 organisation."

While the official stopped short of saying all visas were under active review, the message was clear that the administration considers every visa holder fair game.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said scrutiny was intensifying, particularly for students.

"We're reviewing all student visas," the official said, adding that the State Department is "constantly monitoring what people have said" on social media, which applicants are now required to disclose.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has leaned on an obscure law to revoke visas for people deemed to counter US foreign policy interests, particularly targeting anti-Israel protesters.

The State Department said it has revoked 6,000 visas since Rubio took office with Trump in January — four times the number revoked by Joe Biden’s administration in the same period the year before.

Rubio has argued that the administration can issue and revoke visas without judicial review, saying non-US citizens do not enjoy the US constitutional right to free speech.

But judges have pushed back in some high-profile cases.

Fierce campaign

Mahmoud Khalil, a legal permanent resident who led pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University, was freed by a judge in June.

A few days after Khalil's arrest, Trump's claim came due after another pro-Palestine student, Badar Khan Suri, an Indian researcher at Georgetown University, was arrested. His attorney said he was arrested because of the Palestinian identity of his wife. He was released in May.

After the arrest of Suri, authorities went after another pro-Palestine student, Momodou Taal, asking him to turn himself in.

On March 25, Yunseo Chung, a Columbia University student, said she sued the Trump administration to stop her deportation from the US over her participation in a pro-Palestine protest last Spring.

Also on March 25, Rumeysa Ozturk, who is a Tufts University PhD student, was kidnapped in broad daylight by US authorities over criticising Israel's carnage in Gaza.

On April 14, authorities arrested Mohsen Mahdawi during his citizenship interview before he was released on April 30.

Separately on Thursday, Rubio announced that the administration is halting the issuance of work visas for foreign commercial truck drivers, citing road safety and the protection of American truckers.

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Source: TRT