Trump Admin Revokes 175,000 Visa: How That Compares to Biden

The Trump administration has revoked over 175,000 U.S. visas during its first 18 months in office, a staggering number four times greater than the 40,000 visas revoked by President Biden's State Department in 2024 alone. This surge in visa revocations comes as part of a broad immigration enforcement and screening campaign led by the Trump administration, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo vowing to continue identifying and revoking visas for foreign nationals posing a threat to American safety.

The revocations have occurred in a variety of circumstances, including criminal conduct, immigration violations, fraud, and national-security concerns. Most revocations resulted from "law enforcement encounters," with offenses like assault, DUIs, theft, and drug offenses leading to the loss of a visa. The Trump administration has also revoked visas for individuals who celebrated the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk and others involved in immigration fraud and birth tourism.

Despite the absence of a consistent annual tally of visa revocations, independent reports from both the Trump and Biden administrations reveal that the current rate of revocations under Trump is significantly higher than during Biden's term or any other presidency. Civil liberties groups have criticized some of the Trump administration's actions, particularly those targeting foreign students and academics based on their political activism or speech.

One notable case involved Rümeysa Öztürk, a Turkish doctoral student at Tufts University, whose visa was revoked after she co-authored an opinion article criticizing Tufts' response to the war in Gaza. The American Civil Liberties Union represented Öztürk and argued that her case raised concerns about the potential for the government to punish individuals for exercising their First Amendment rights.