The U.S. State Department has revoked between 200 and 300 student visas this year over terrorism support, Fox News reported on Wednesday.
An anonymous senior State Department official told the media outlet that those who had their visas revoked for support for terror had “engaged in behavior such as raising funds for the militant group Hamas.”
In total, more than 6,000 student visas have been pulled this year, primarily for overstays or crimes such as supporting terrorism, assault, burglary and DUIs, according to Fox News.
“Every single student visa revoked under the Trump Administration has happened because the individual has either broken the law or expressed support for terrorism while in the United States,” the official told Fox News.
A spokesman for the State Department confirmed the report to JNS, noting that 4,000 of the visas were revoked due to criminal offenses.
“Foreigners that break the law or express support for terrorism have no business studying in the United States,” Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) stated.
Sen. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) wrote that “if you’re a student here on a visa and you break our laws, you’re getting deported. Period.”
“In no scenario should foreign students who support terrorism have visas to begin with,” Rep. Pat Fallon (R-Texas) wrote. “Studying in America is not a right, it’s a privilege.”
