The United States Cancelled Six Thousand Visas for Students Since Rubio Took Office

SadaNews - The U.S. State Department announced on Monday that it has canceled six thousand student visas since Secretary of State Marco Rubio took office seven months ago. Rubio has initiated a campaign against students, exploiting an obscure law that allows him to revoke visas for individuals deemed opponents to U.S. foreign policy interests, which has pleased the right-wing base of President Donald Trump. The Trump administration has also sought to expand mass deportations of those residing illegally in the United States. An official from the U.S. State Department stated, "The State Department has revoked more than six thousand student visas due to overstaying and legal violations, most of which are assaults, driving under the influence, theft, and supporting terrorism." The official noted that about four thousand visas were revoked due to legal violations. The State Department has not categorized the visas by nationality. Rubio had pledged to take strict action against Chinese students. In March, Rubio told reporters that he cancels visas daily, affirming about activist students, "Every time I find one of these idiots, I cancel their visas." He particularly focused on students who protested against Israel, accusing them of antisemitism, charges they denied. However, the U.S. administration faced setbacks in two cases that are considered among the most prominent issues. Mahmoud Khalil, a permanent resident legally in the United States who led pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University, was released by a judge's ruling in June. Khalil, who had his son born during his detention, filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration accusing it of attempting to "intimidate" him. Additionally, a judge released Ramisa Ozturk, a Turkish graduate student at Tufts University who wrote an article in a university-affiliated newspaper criticizing Israel, pending hearings. She was stopped by masked individuals in plain clothes on a street in Massachusetts. Rubio stated that the U.S. administration is entitled to issue or revoke entry visas without judicial review, and that non-U.S. citizens do not have the American constitutional right to freedom of expression.