The Trump administration has a tough new message for foreigners in the United States: One strike, and you’re out.
Foreign nationals visiting or living in the country legally could lose their visa status if they run afoul of the law under the new and unforgiving so-called “catch and revoke” policy, announced by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
“There is now a one-strike policy: Catch-And-Revoke,” Rubio said in a social media post on May 2. “Whenever the government catches non-U.S. citizens breaking our laws, we will take action to revoke their status.”
But:
David Bier, director of immigration studies at the libertarian Cato Institute, called the new policy “absurd” and contrary to U.S. immigration law.
“Wealthy, skilled people with other options will not settle in a country where their lives can be ruined for a speeding ticket or operating an illegal lemonade stand,” he said in a post on X.
Outrageous:
Most recently, the administration aggressively targeted student visa holders who have protested Israel’s war in Gaza or voiced pro-Palestinian views. Students with minor violations, including traffic infractions, have also seen their visas terminated.
“They stripped student visas from people for speeding tickets,” said Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, in a post on X. “Now they’re suggesting they’ll do the same to everyone.”
