More than 175,000 foreign visas have been revoked by the U.S. government due to various crimes and violations of visa conditions during U.S. President Donald Trump's term in office.
With the midterm elections approaching in November, the Trump administration's immigration crackdowns are intensifying further.
The U.S. Department of State announced on the 10th local time that it revoked visas for foreigners citing reasons such as visa condition violations, various crimes, incitement of violence against U.S. citizens, abuse of the immigration system, and threats to national security.
Most visas were revoked following contact with law enforcement agencies, with major grounds for cancellation including assault, driving under the influence, theft, drug offenses, sex crimes, child abuse, fraud, and embezzlement.
Cases involving visa cancellations due to so-called "birth tourism" were also disclosed.
The U.S. Embassy in the North African region revoked the visas of more than 100 parents identified as having visited the U.S. for the purpose of securing U.S. citizenship for their children.
There were also cases where deportations were decided for foreign policy reasons, and it was reported that visas were revoked for foreigners known to have made remarks such as "he died too late" at the time of the assassination of domestic right-wing activist Charlie Kirk in the U.S.
Foreigners who incited violence against the U.S. President or designated Americans as enemies were also included among those subject to visa cancellation.
The Trump administration is also strengthening screening procedures at the visa issuance stage.
Reuters reported that the U.S. government has stepped up social media vetting for visa applicants and expanded the scope of screenings.
Immigration crackdowns are expanding to domestic flights at airports as well.
According to the U.S. legal community, a South Korean national was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) inside a domestic flight that landed at an airport in the southern U.S. early this month.
The South Korean individual was reportedly staying beyond the authorized visa expiration date.
The New York Times also recently reported that plainclothes ICE agents at 15 airports across the U.S. are increasingly arresting foreigners at domestic check-in counters and boarding gates.
Many of the arrested foreigners are reported to be immigrants who overstayed the periods specified on their visas.
With simple overstayers, who previously had low deportation priorities, now included in active enforcement targets, evaluations indicate that the scope of the Trump administration's immigration crackdown ahead of the midterm elections is expanding even further.
Reported by Kim Minjeong | Video by Lee Dain | Graphics by Yang Hyemin | Produced by SBS Digital News
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