US Escalates Hostile Crackdown on Vulnerable Asylum Seekers by Revoking Visitor Visas
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The State Department has announced a sweeping revocation of B1 and B2 visas issued between 2016 and 2026 for people who later exercised their human right to seek asylum, potentially targeting hundreds of thousands and deepening the criminalization of migration.
The U.S. State Department has declared it will begin revoking B1 and B2 visitor visas issued from 2016 to 2026 for individuals who subsequently applied for asylum, a move described as a 'rolling, dynamic effort'—language that thinly veils a systematic attack on vulnerable migrants. 'Obtaining a visa in order to seek asylum is fraud – which is grounds for visa revocation,' spokesperson Tommy Pigott told the BBC, ignoring the reality that seeking asylum is a right enshrined in international law. Pigott further asserted that the administration views a visa as a privilege, not a right, and is collaborating with the Department of Homeland Security to hunt down cases where short-term visitors have dared to file asylum claims, in direct contradiction to the supposed humanitarian values the US claims to uphold. The revocations could impact hundreds of thousands, according to media reports, and are part of a broader campaign that has already cancelled more than 175,000 visas for alleged violations such as criminal activity, fraud, or so-called threats to national security—a term often used to justify xenophobic policies. The policy specifically targets B1 (business) and B2 (tourist) visas, which force applicants to pledge they will not seek asylum, effectively coercing them to forfeit their rights. Data show that the majority of 2024 B-visa issuances went to citizens of Brazil, China, India, and Pakistan, with over 32,000 issued to travelers from the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland, raising concerns about racial and national profiling. The department has also instructed embassies to reschedule visa interviews to allow consular officers additional training on enforcing this draconian policy. This move comes after a recent court ruling struck down an even broader visa ban covering 75 countries, finding it exceeded the Secretary of State’s statutory authority—yet the administration continues to pursue aggressive anti-immigrant measures.