The US State Department said on Oct 20 that the Trump administration has revoked more than 300,000 US visas during Trump’s second term, as part of a sweeping immigration crackdown. The figure was reported by the South China Morning Post and the Straits Times. It is the latest count in a series of US visa revocations that have drawn attention both inside and outside the country.
State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott announced the number on X, according to the Straits Times. He said the administration has revoked more visas at a faster pace than any administration in history.
Pigott also said the administration has zero tolerance for foreigners on visas who break the law, commit fraud, or undermine national security, according to the Straits Times.
The new figure shows a sharp rise from earlier counts. An Aug. 10 State Department update put the number of visa revocations since January 2025 at more than 175,000, according to the Straits Times. The South China Morning Post said the latest figure showed an acceleration in the pace of revocations in recent weeks.
Trump has said the immigration crackdown and deportation drive aim to improve domestic security. The sources present this as Trump’s stated purpose.
Rights advocates have criticized the crackdown. They say it has violated due process and free speech rights, created an unsafe environment for ethnic minorities, and that national security reasons have been used to target critics. The sources do not name these advocates.
Reuters, as reported by the Straits Times, said that revocations criticized by rights advocates include those of pro-Palestinian foreign protesters and foreigners over social media comments about Charlie Kirk’s assassination.
The central dispute is whether the revocations are a lawful, targeted response to crime, fraud and security threats, or a broad crackdown that violates rights. The State Department and Trump say the policy targets lawbreakers and security threats. Rights advocates say it violates due process and free speech, and that it uses isolated fraud cases to target immigrant communities, such as Somali Americans in Minnesota, according to the Straits Times, citing Reuters.
Several gaps remain. The 300,000 figure has not been independently verified and comes from the State Department. The sources give no breakdown of revocations by reason, nationality or category, and they describe no individual cases beyond general categories. The State Department has not directly responded to rights advocates’ specific claims in these sources. Only two outlets are represented, so the key facts rest on the South China Morning Post and the Straits Times.
The sources do not report any scheduled action, legal challenge, or further State Department update on the revocations.
Sources
This article was written with AI assistance from the published reporting listed above. It is part of the World Brief daily news podcast.