Trump official claims record-breaking 300,000 visas were revoked

SaveSharefacebookxwhatsapp-strokecopylinkVideo Duration 27 minutes 37 seconds play-arrow27:37Will foreign workers leave South Africa? I Inside storyBy Al Jazeera StaffPublished On 20 Oct 202620 Oct 2026The Trump administration has said it has revoked more than 300,000 visas issued to foreign nationals, claiming it has done so at a faster pace than any previous administration.A spokesman for the US Department of State said on social media on Tuesday that the revocations targeted foreign nationals in the United States on visas who had broken the law, committed fraud or posed threats to national security.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4US approves visas for top Iranian leaders to attend UN General Assemblylist 2 of 4US suspends Microsoft and Adobe from visa programme amid fraud claimslist 3 of 4US ICE releases Kashmiri filmmaker Arfat Sheikh from custodylist 4 of 4Trump ramps up third-country US deportations despite global rights outcryend of list“We have zero tolerance for foreigners here on visas who break the law, commit fraud, or undermine our national security,” Tommy Pigott, State Department spokesman, said in a post on the social media platform X.The administration would continue taking action to secure US borders and protect national security, he added.Al Jazeera has reached out to the State Department for comment.The number of visa revocations exceeded 175,000 in August.In January, the department said it had revoked more than 100,000 visas, a record at the time.The administration has also adopted a stricter policy on granting visas, with tightened social media vetting and expanded screening.Rights advocates and human rights experts have condemned the Trump administration’s social media screening efforts, which they say threaten free speech and are akin to surveillance and the singling out of immigrants.