The U.S. government has revoked more than 6000 student visas, a State Department official said on Monday. Most of the revocations were because of visa-holders overstaying their visas or breaking the law. A few hundred were revoked due to visa-holders’ engagement in terrorist activities.
FOX Digital first reported on the development, citing a State Department official who said that around 4,000 visa revocations were because of visa-holders’ criminal records, including assault, DUI, and burglary. Around 200-300 visas were revoked because of engagement in activities deemed to be terrorism-related by the State Department. The official mentioned raising money for the Palestinian group Hamas as one such activity.
The State Department’s statement comes amid the Trump administration’s tightening of student visa regulations. Earlier this year, the government paused student visa interviews for around three weeks. When interviews resumed, consular officials were directed to conduct thorough social media vetting to screen for “applicants who demonstrate a history of political activism, especially when it is associated with violence.”