In a dramatic escalation of its immigration enforcement agenda, the Trump administration has rolled out a brand new coverage enabling the US authorities to revoke the visas of international nationals—college students, staff, and guests alike—for even minor authorized infractions.
The “Catch and Revoke” directive, unveiled by Secretary of State Marco Rubio within the April 30 version of the State Division publication, introduces a strict one-strike rule. “Each time the federal government catches non-US residents breaking our legal guidelines, we’ll take motion to revoke their standing,” Rubio acknowledged, calling a visa “a privilege, not a proper.”
Whereas the coverage outlines precedence revocations for crimes like home violence and assault, its broad and ambiguous language has drawn backlash. “They stripped scholar visas from folks for dashing tickets,” mentioned Aaron Reichlin-Melnick of the American Immigration Council. “Now they’re suggesting they’re going to do the identical to everybody.”
The coverage additionally singles out international college students allegedly supporting Hamas or becoming a member of pro-Palestinian campus protests. Rubio blamed the Biden administration for failing to guard Jewish college students throughout latest unrest on campuses. “They allowed campus buildings to be overrun by violent thugs,” he wrote.
Citing the Immigration and Nationality Act, Rubio mentioned scholar visa holders discovered to help or endorse terrorist teams could be deemed inadmissible. The coverage builds on intelligence-sharing with regulation enforcement to establish and cancel such visas instantly.
Rubio additionally tied the brand new rule to broader reforms underneath Trump’s second time period. In his 100-day assertion, he claimed the State Division had remodeled into “a leaner machine” by dismantling workplaces just like the International Engagement Middle, reducing funding to NGOs, and streamlining operations to remove paperwork.
Extra government actions embody requiring US universities to reveal all international funding sources or danger dropping federal help, measures aimed squarely at worldwide college students and establishments seen as sympathetic to America’s adversaries.
Rubio defended the modifications as a necessity for nationwide safety. “The time of contemptuously benefiting from our nation’s generosity ends,” he wrote.
The brand new coverage coincides with Trump’s broader America First technique overseas, together with diplomatic efforts to expel China from managing the Panama Canal, pressuring NATO allies to extend protection spending, and reclassifying the Houthis as a international terrorist group.
Authorized resistance is already underway. A number of visa revocations have been reversed in courtroom, and extra challenges are anticipated. Civil liberties teams argue the coverage might violate due course of and chill free speech.
Secretary Rubio was sworn in on January 21, 2025. “With an impending reorganization that may unleash the Division’s expertise from the ground-up,” he concluded, “the State Division is about to proceed to play a pivotal position in making certain the security, safety and prosperity of the American folks.”