The Trump administration is reportedly preparing to revoke business and tourism visas held by as many as 200,000 migrants who have applied for or are seeking asylum in the United States, according to a report Monday.
The sweeping action, first reported by The Associated Press, would represent the largest mass visa revocation in U.S. history.
The State Department is expected to work with the Department of Homeland Security to revoke B1 and B2 visas issued since 2016, according to two American officials and department documents obtained by the AP.
State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott confirmed that the two agencies were coordinating to identify foreign nationals who entered the country as temporary visitors before filing asylum claims.
“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,” Pigott told The Hill.
Pigott declined to confirm the reported figure of up to 200,000 revocations. He said the total remained subject to change because officials would carry out the action over time.
“The number of revocations remains dynamic and will be done on a rolling basis,” Pigott said.
The move would not immediately result in the deportation of affected migrants, according to officials who spoke with the AP. Instead, pending asylum cases would be reclassified to reflect that the applicants are no longer considered business or tourism travelers.
Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau defended the planned crackdown Monday, arguing that the asylum process had been abused by people using it to get around immigration laws.
“People in the U.S. and all over the world are fed up with bogus asylum claims,” Landau wrote on social media.
Landau said asylum was intended to provide narrowly defined protection for people facing persecution because of their race, religion, nationality, political views or membership in a particular social group.
“Asylum isn’t supposed to be a loophole to circumvent immigration laws,” he said.
Landau added that the system had been overwhelmed by what he called “frivolous asylum claims,” causing decisions to take years. During that period, he said, applicants can typically work, have children and establish roots inside the United States.
People currently applying for B1 and B2 visas must affirm that they will not seek asylum and provide evidence that they intend to return to their home countries.
President Donald Trump has moved to impose tighter visa restrictions involving asylum applicants 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 crimes, along with individuals who criticized U.S. policies in the Middle East.
The administration last month also began limiting asylum seekers’ access to interviews used to evaluate their claims. Under that approach, officers may instead route migrants into immigration court for deportation proceedings.
That change could send migrants into the immigration court system more quickly without an opportunity to present their cases to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
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