US Revokes 6,000 Student Visas Over Law Violations, Policy Concerns

The United States government has revoked 6,000 student visas in the past seven months, the State Department announced on Monday.

According to the department, the revocations followed violations of immigration laws and actions deemed contrary to U.S. foreign policy interests. About 4,000 of the cancellations were linked to criminal offenses, including assault, burglary, driving under the influence (DUI), and alleged support for terrorism.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who assumed office earlier this year under President Donald Trump’s administration, has openly pursued a tougher stance on foreign students. He has frequently cited an obscure legal provision that allows the State Department to rescind visas at its discretion.

Rubio, in past remarks, vowed to revoke visas of students he described as “lunatics,” particularly those involved in protests against Israel. He has accused some student activists of anti-Semitism, a charge they have denied.

Two high-profile cases, however, have drawn widespread criticism of the administration’s policy. Mahmoud Khalil, a permanent U.S. resident and Palestinian activist who led protests at Columbia University, was freed by a judge in June after months in detention. Similarly, Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish graduate student at Tufts University, regained her freedom in May after being detained by plainclothes agents following her criticism of Israel in a campus newspaper.

Rubio has insisted that non-U.S. citizens are not entitled to constitutional free speech protections and maintains that the administration can issue or revoke visas without judicial oversight.

The State Department did not provide a breakdown of the affected students by nationality, but Rubio has repeatedly signaled a tougher approach toward Chinese students.