State Department says Trump administration has revoked more than 300,000 visas

The Trump administration has revoked more than 300,000 U.S. visas since President Donald Trump began his second term, the State Department said on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, describing the figure as part of a broader effort to tighten screening and enforcement for foreign visitors.

The total was reported by Reuters and Al Jazeera, both citing the department or its officials. It represents the administration’s count rather than an independently audited tally. A State Department official told Al Jazeera that the vast majority of cases involved alleged criminal activity, public-safety concerns, immigration violations, fraud or misrepresentation, or another finding that the holder was no longer eligible for a visa.

What the department reported

According to the breakdown provided by the official, assault and related offenses accounted for 25% of the revocations, driving under the influence for 22%, theft for 7%, and substance abuse or distribution for another 7%. Those categories total 61% of the reported cases, leaving the remainder spread among immigration violations, fraud, security concerns and other legal grounds cited by the department.

The department also said more than 4,000 visas were revoked in cases connected to alleged facilitation of or participation in “birth tourism,” a term used for travel to the United States primarily to give birth so that a child receives U.S. citizenship. The department did not publicly provide case-level records with Tuesday’s announcement, and the aggregate figures do not establish that every affected person was convicted of a crime.

State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said the administration has zero tolerance for visa holders who violate U.S. law, commit fraud or threaten national security. The government’s position is that holding a visa is a continuing privilege subject to review, not a guarantee that its holder may enter or remain in the United States under all circumstances.

A rapidly rising total

The latest figure marks a steep increase from earlier department announcements. The administration said in January that it had revoked more than 100,000 visas since Trump returned to office on January 20, 2025. By August, the total had passed 175,000. The new count of more than 300,000 indicates that the pace accelerated over the following two months, although the department did not release a month-by-month table.

The expansion has occurred alongside stricter vetting. The administration has increased reviews of visa holders’ social-media activity and other records, including for foreign students and exchange visitors. Officials say those checks help identify security risks and people who may be ineligible under immigration law.

Revocation and removal are different steps

A visa generally allows a foreign national to seek admission at a U.S. port of entry; it does not itself guarantee entry. Revoking that document can prevent future travel and may affect a person already in the country, but it is not the same action as a deportation order. Immigration status, admission, removal proceedings and any criminal case can involve separate authorities and legal processes.

That distinction matters when evaluating the headline total. The announced number describes visas canceled by the State Department, not 300,000 completed deportations or criminal convictions. The consequences vary depending on where the person is located, the visa category, the stated ground for revocation and whether other proceedings follow.

Civil-liberties and immigrant-rights advocates have criticized expanded social-media screening and broad security reviews, arguing that they can chill lawful speech and subject noncitizens to opaque surveillance. The administration says stronger continuous vetting is necessary to protect public safety and enforce the conditions attached to U.S. visas.

What comes next

The State Department has signaled that reviews and revocations will continue. Further disclosure about the legal grounds, visa categories and outcomes in the affected cases would make it possible to assess the program beyond the administration’s aggregate figures. For now, the announcement is the clearest measure yet of how extensively Trump’s second-term immigration policy has reached people who had already received permission to seek entry to the United States.

Sources and image credit

Reporting: Reuters and Al Jazeera. Both reports attribute the main total and category breakdown to the State Department or its officials.

Image: U.S. passports on a map, photographed by Cytis. Sourced from Wikimedia Commons; original listing on Pixabay. Released under the CC0 1.0 public-domain dedication. Center-cropped and resized to 1600×900; no text added.