The Trump administration is preparing to revoke business and tourist visas held by as many as 200,000 foreigners who have applied for or are seeking asylum in the United States, a sweeping initiative that would amount to the largest mass visa revocation in U.S. history.
The State Department, working together with the Department of Homeland Security, is expected to announce that B1 and B2 visas issued since 2016 will be revoked for affected individuals, according to two U.S. officials and State Department documents obtained by The Associated Press.
“We are coordinating with DHS to identify and revoke the nonimmigrant visas of foreigners who have come to the United States claiming to be short-term visitors, but then file for asylum to stay here permanently,” State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott told The Hill.
Pigott would not confirm how many people will ultimately lose their visas, emphasizing that the total could change as officials continue reviewing cases.
The “number of revocations remains dynamic and will be done on a rolling basis.”
Officials told the AP that losing a B1 or B2 visa would not automatically lead to an individual’s immediate deportation. Those with pending asylum applications would instead have their status changed to reflect that they are no longer in the country as business or tourist visitors.
Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau defended the initiative Monday, arguing that the asylum process has been exploited by people who entered the United States after representing themselves as temporary visitors.
“People in the U.S. and all over the world are fed up with bogus asylum claims,” Landau wrote on social media Monday. “Asylum isn’t supposed to be a loophole to circumvent immigration laws; rather, it’s supposed to provide a narrow safe harbor for persons persecuted because of their ‘race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.’”
Landau said the large number of questionable applications has overwhelmed the asylum system, creating years-long delays while applicants remain in the country.
He added that the asylum system “has long been swamped by frivolous asylum claims, meaning that it takes years to adjudicate whether applicants are actually entitled to asylum—during which time they can typically work, have children, and otherwise put down roots in our country.”
Applicants currently seeking B1 or B2 visas are required to affirm that they do not intend to seek asylum once they arrive in the United States and must demonstrate that they plan to return to their home countries.
President Trump has moved aggressively to tighten visa and asylum policies since returning to the White House last year. The State Department has since revoked approximately 175,000 visas belonging to people convicted of or accused of various crimes, as well as individuals who have publicly opposed U.S. policies in the Middle East.
The administration took another step last month by restricting asylum seekers’ access to interviews in which their claims would ordinarily be evaluated. Under the new approach, immigration officers can instead direct migrants into immigration court and deportation proceedings.
That change allows migrants to be moved rapidly into the immigration court system without first receiving an opportunity to present their asylum claims to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
{Matzav.com}
