Rubio’s State Dept. Revokes 175,000 Visas Since Beginning of Trump’s Term
President Donald Trump’s administration is intensifying its immigration enforcement campaign, revoking visas held by foreign nationals accused of criminal activity, fraud and other violations of American law.
The State Department, led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, announced Monday that it has revoked more than 175,000 visas since Trump began his second term in January 2025.
Officials said most of the revocations followed encounters with law enforcement, while warning that additional enforcement actions are expected.
“The majority of these visas were revoked due to law enforcement encounters for a range of criminal activity, with assault, driving under the influence, theft, and drug crimes being the leading causes,” the State Department said in a statement.
“A significant share of visas were revoked for reckless driving, sexual assault, child abuse, fraud and embezzlement, and other crimes,” the statement added.
The department also cited alleged birth tourism operations, immigration fraud and conduct deemed contrary to U.S. law or national interests.
Revocations Accelerate Under Trump
Approximately 100,000 visas were revoked during 2025, according to the administration.
Officials say another 75,000 have been revoked so far in 2026. If that pace continues, the total for this year could reach approximately 125,000.
The expanded enforcement is part of Trump’s broader effort to restore accountability to an immigration system that was widely abused under previous administrations.
According to Just the News, the administration is targeting visa fraud, criminal activity and other misconduct by foreign nationals who have no inherent right to remain in the United States.
A visa is a conditional privilege—not a guarantee that a foreign visitor may stay in the country regardless of subsequent behavior. The administration’s position is that individuals who commit serious crimes, engage in fraud or threaten American interests should lose that privilege.
Birthright Citizenship Returns to the Spotlight
The enforcement announcement came as Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy drew renewed attention to the scale of birthright citizenship involving children born to parents who are neither citizens nor lawful permanent residents.
During a Monday appearance on “Fox & Friends,” Doocy discussed the implications of a Supreme Court decision involving Trump’s executive order challenging the prevailing interpretation of the Constitution’s citizenship provision.
The Court ruled 6-3 that children born in the United States to illegal aliens and temporary foreign nationals are entitled to American citizenship under the Fourteenth Amendment. Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch dissented.
Doocy highlighted the number of children who receive automatic citizenship under the current system.
“260,000 babies every year are given automatic U.S. citizenship who have parents that are not citizens or lawful permanent residents. When it goes to the birth tourism citizens, that is 20K-26K per year,” Doocy said.
Those figures have intensified conservative concerns that the nation’s citizenship laws are being exploited through illegal immigration and birth tourism.
Trump Challenged Modern Interpretation
On Jan. 20, 2025, his first day back in office, Trump signed an executive order titled “Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship.”
The order argued that the Fourteenth Amendment’s citizenship provision was adopted after the Civil War primarily to secure citizenship for formerly enslaved Americans—not to guarantee citizenship to children born to illegal aliens or temporary foreign visitors.
Trump’s action forced a constitutional and statutory debate that Republican lawmakers are now attempting to carry forward through Congress.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who partially joined the Court’s majority, argued that Trump’s executive order conflicted with existing federal law rather than the Constitution itself. His opinion indicated that Congress retains authority to amend the law.
“Congress could — consistent with the Fourteenth Amendment — amend §1401(a) or otherwise enact new legislation establishing exceptions to birthright citizenship for children born to foreign citizens unlawfully or temporarily in the country,” Kavanaugh wrote.
“But Congress has not yet done so,” Kavanaugh added.
That language has given congressional Republicans a possible legislative path to reform.
Jim Banks Introduces Citizenship Act
Indiana Republican Sen. Jim Banks is laying the groundwork for Congress to restrict automatic citizenship for U.S.-born children of illegal aliens and foreign tourists.
Banks’ Citizenship Act would invoke Congress’ authority under Article I of the Constitution to establish a uniform rule of naturalization. The proposal would characterize illegal aliens as foreign invaders and seek to end the current practice of granting automatic citizenship to their U.S.-born children.
Supporters argue that citizenship should represent a genuine legal and national bond—not a benefit obtained through unlawful entry or a temporary visit arranged for the purpose of giving birth on American soil.
The legislation would likely face immediate opposition from Democrats, immigration activists and civil-liberties organizations. It would also provoke another major constitutional battle over the meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment’s citizenship clause.
Still, Trump and his Republican allies appear determined to force the debate. With visa revocations accelerating and Congress weighing new citizenship restrictions, the administration is making clear that immigration privileges—and American citizenship itself—must be protected from fraud, criminal abuse and exploitation.