The State Department said Monday that the U.S. has revoked more than 100,000 visas since Republican Donald Trump returned to the White House in January 2025, more than in a single year of any presidential term. “The Trump administration’s top priority is protecting American citizens and respecting American sovereignty,” said Tommy Pigott, a U.S. State Department spokesman.

The number of visas canceled since January 20, 2025, is two and a half times higher than the number announced in 2024, when Democrat Joe Biden was president.

According to the State Department, "thousands" of visas were canceled, mostly due to assaults or drunk driving.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had already expressed satisfaction with the cancellation of the visas of thousands of students because they had participated in demonstrations against Israel's military operations in the Gaza Strip.

To do so, Rubio invoked a McCarthy-era law that allows for the denial of visa applications or the revocation of existing visas in cases deemed contrary to U.S. foreign policy interests. However, some of these decisions have been successfully challenged in court.

The State Department said 8,000 of the revoked visas were student visas.

The Trump administration has also tightened verification of visa applications, especially on social media sites.

The measures are part of a broader campaign to combat illegal immigration, which the Republican president has made a top priority.

The United States has deported more than 605,000 people, while about 2.5 million others have voluntarily left the country, the Department of Homeland Security said last month.