The Donald Trump-led administration has revoked the visas of six foreigners who, according to U.S. officials, made inappropriate comments or mocked the assassination of the president’s ally, Charlie Kirk, last month.
The six foreigners who had their visas revoked were from Argentina, Brazil, Germany, Mexico, Paraguay and South Africa.
U.S State Department yesterday, said it had determined they should lose their visas after reviewing their online social media posts and clips about Kirk, who was killed while speaking at a Utah college campus on Sept. 10.
The announcement came as Trump posthumously awarded Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America’s highest civilian honor.
“Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio “will defend our borders, our culture, and our citizens by enforcing our immigration laws,” the State Department said.
“Aliens who take advantage of America’s hospitality while celebrating the assassination of our citizens will be removed,” it added.
In addition to revoking visas, the administration has ramped up efforts to identify and potentially expel thousands of foreigners in the country, notably students, who it says have either fomented or participated in unrest or publicly supported protests against Israel’s military operations in Gaza.
The administration has also denied visas to applicants whose social media histories have been critical of its policies.
Among the higher-profile cases, the administration has expelled South Africa’s ambassador to the United States for comments critical of Trump, revoked a visa for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to attend the U.N. General Assembly and yanked the visas for British punk-rap duo Bob Vylan.
It said it is reviewing the status of the more than 55 million current U.S. visa holders for potential violations of its standards.
