U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday delivered a blunt warning to foreign nationals entering the United States, saying visas are a privilege and will be revoked if visitors engage in activity deemed harmful to American national interests.
Speaking during a joint <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcigFh9lJRk">press conference</a> in Budapest alongside Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, Rubio emphasized that entry into the United States carries conditions that extend beyond border screening. 
“I’ve said this repeatedly — I don’t know why it’s so hard for some to comprehend,” Rubio said. “A visa — no one’s entitled to a visa. There is no constitutional right to a visa. A visa is permission to enter our country as a visitor.”
Rubio added that visitors who violate the terms of their stay — whether as students, journalists, tourists, or other temporary entrants — should expect swift consequences.
“If you enter our country as a visitor and you undertake activities that are against the national interest or national security of the United States, we will take away your visa,” he said. “In fact, if we knew you were going to do it, we probably never would have given you your visa.”
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
SECRETARY RUBIO: I&#8217;ve said this repeatedly. I don&#8217;t know why it&#8217;s so hard for some to comprehend it.
No one is entitled to a visa.
If you enter our country as a visitor and undertake activities against the national interests of the United States, we will take away your visa. <a href="https://t.co/Y9hWlZpKBX">pic.twitter.com/Y9hWlZpKBX</a>
— Department of State (@StateDept) <a href="https://twitter.com/StateDept/status/2023400465355166145?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 16, 2026</a></blockquote>
The comments come amid heightened scrutiny of foreign nationals participating in political activism, campus protests, and media activity inside the United States, as the Trump administration signals a more aggressive enforcement posture toward visa compliance and national security screening.
Rubio’s remarks were delivered during a high-profile visit to Hungary, likely chosen as an attempt to give a campaign boost to Orbán, who is up for re-election in April. Rubio repeatedly praised Orbán’s leadership and highlighted the close personal relationship between the nationalist leader and President Donald Trump.
&#8220;I’m going to be very blunt with you,” Rubio said. “The prime minister and the president have a very, very close personal and working relationship, and I think it has been beneficial to our two countries.”
Rubio described U.S.–Hungarian relations as experiencing a “golden age” under Trump, crediting the rapport between the two leaders for deepening cooperation on energy, defense, and strategic alignment.
During the visit, Rubio signed an agreement on U.S.–Hungarian civilian nuclear cooperation, including potential purchases of small modular reactors (SMRs), U.S.-supplied nuclear fuel, and spent fuel storage technology, a move aimed at strengthening Central Europe’s energy independence.
Hungary has emerged as a key ally for the Trump administration in Central Europe, alongside Slovakia, particularly among governments skeptical of the European Union’s immigration policies and continued military support for Ukraine. Orbán, widely viewed as Russia’s most reliable advocate within the EU, has maintained energy ties with Moscow while cultivating close relations with Trump and the broader MAGA movement.
Orbán has also publicly embraced Trump-style political branding, promoting the slogan “Make Europe Great Again,” and has received exemptions from American sanctions on Russian energy following meetings with Trump at the White House.
For American conservatives, Hungary has become an increasingly important focal point of ideological alignment. Budapest has hosted multiple iterations of CPAC <a href="https://www.cpachungary.com/en/">events</a> scheduled just weeks ahead of Hungary’s April elections. First elected prime minister in 2010, Orbán is seeking a fifth term and faces what many observers describe as the <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/hungarys-tisza-party-keeps-its-lead-number-undecided-voters-drops-poll-shows-2026-02-13/">toughest race</a> of his 16 years in power.
Rubio’s visa warning, delivered on politically friendly ground, reflects a shared governing philosophy between Washington and Budapest: that sovereignty does not end at physical borders, and that nations retain the authority to decide not only who enters, but under what conditions they are permitted to remain.
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President Trump Meets With Visiting Crown Prince Of Bahrain

Trump Admin Warns Tough New Visa Consequences During High-Profile Visit

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A new House proposal aims to crack down on abuses of the student visa system, including by imposing tougher penalties on administrators and institutions found responsible for visa fraud.
The “Student Visa Integrity Act,” introduced by Rep. Brandon Gill (R-TX), would tighten visa expiration dates and require in-person interviews for visa extensions for applicants from countries considered sponsors of terrorism or that are in programs otherwise deemed high national security risks.
Under the proposal, students from state sponsors of terrorism, nations with an overstay rate of 10% or higher, or institutions that do not use E-Verify would be limited to a maximum student visa term of two years.
“Studying in the United States is a privilege, not a right,” Gill told The Daily Wire. “Unfortunately, a system intended to spread the American dream has been abused by fraudsters and bad actors. My bill restores integrity to a system that has been exploited for decades by protecting national security, enforcing immigration law, and ensuring the student visa program serves America’s interests.”
Gill’s proposal would also require educational institutions and affiliated organizations to disclose any financial links to China. In addition, the bill would set new limits on foreign students wanting to transfer between schools.
The bill also empowers the Department of Homeland Security to reject student visa applicants from “countries of concern” if the applicant could pose a future national security risk to the United States. That includes individuals seeking to work in “the energy sector of Iran” or to “participate in coursework or training relating to or otherwise engage in flight training, aviation maintenance, or flight operations.”
Under President Donald Trump, the State Department revoked roughly 100,000 visas in 2025, according to <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-administration-revokes-more-than-100000-visas-first-year-back" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fox News</a>. The outlet noted that 8,000 of those were student visas.
According to a 2024 <a href="https://www.ice.gov/doclib/sevis/btn/25_0605_2024-sevis-btn.pdf#:~:text=The%20total%20number%20of%20SEVIS%20records%20for,of%205.3%20percent%20from%20calendar%20year%202023." target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, just under 1.6 million individuals were “active” students in the Student and Exchange Visitor Program. The report noted a 5.3% increase from 2023, with Asia as the most common “continent of origin.”
Roughly 50,000 people may have overstayed their student and exchange visa as of fiscal year 2023, a DHS <a href="https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/2024-10/24_1011_CBP-Entry-Exit-Overstay-Report-FY23-Data.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> at the time revealed.

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EXCLUSIVE: GOP Proposal Targets Fraud, Security Gaps In Student Visa Program

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On Monday, the U.S. State Department announced that it has revoked over 100,000 visas since President Donald Trump took office last year.
&#8220;The State Department has now revoked over 100,000 visas, including some 8,000 student visas and 2,500 specialized visas for individuals who had encounters with U.S. law enforcement for criminal activity. We will continue to deport these thugs to keep America safe,&#8221; the State Department stated on X.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
🚨BREAKING: The State Department has now revoked over 100,000 visas, including some 8,000 student visas and 2,500 specialized visas for individuals who had encounters with U.S. law enforcement for criminal activity.
We will continue to deport these thugs to keep America safe. <a href="https://t.co/wuHVltw1bV">pic.twitter.com/wuHVltw1bV</a>
&mdash; Department of State (@StateDept) <a href="https://twitter.com/StateDept/status/2010740549469557010?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 12, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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This milestone marks a significant escalation in the administration’s hardline immigration policy, representing a <a href="https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/trump-administration-has-revoked-over-100000-visas-state-department-says/">150% increase</a> in revocations compared to 2024. State Department officials characterized the move as a necessary step to protect American citizens, with spokesperson Tommy Pigott emphasizing that the department would continue to deport &#8220;thugs&#8221; to keep the country safe.
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The broad crackdown targets several specific categories of visa holders. Approximately 8,000 student visas and 2,500 specialized visas were revoked following encounters with law enforcement for criminal activity. The State Department identified the four leading causes for these revocations as visa overstays, driving under the influence (DUI), assault, and theft. To streamline this process, the administration launched a Continuous Vetting Center to monitor foreign nationals on U.S. soil and ensure swift action against those deemed a threat.
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Beyond criminal offenses, the State Department has utilized revocations as a tool of foreign policy and national security. Under the leadership of Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the department has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-admin-revokes-visas-of-foreigners-who-celebrated-charlie-kirks-assassination?utm_source=chatgpt.com">stripped visas</a> from individuals who celebrated the assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk. This includes nationals from Argentina, South Africa, Mexico, and Brazil who made disparaging or celebratory remarks regarding Kirk&#8217;s death.
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The administration is also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-admin-promises-to-continue-crackdown-on-h-1b-visa-abuses?utm_source=chatgpt.com">reforming</a> the H-1B visa program to prioritize American workers. By mandating a $100,000 fee for new applications and launching &#8220;Project Firewall&#8221; to investigate corporate abuses, the White House aims to prevent low-wage foreign labor from displacing U.S. citizens. While President Trump has defended the presence of foreign students for the revenue they provide to universities, the State Department continues to revoke visas at double the rate of the previous administration, signaling a permanent shift toward aggressive vetting and enforcement.
</div>

Pink Exit by Nathan Griffith

State Department Has Revoked 100,000 Visas In Massive Immigration Crackdown

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Democratic attorneys general in 19 states, led by California and Massachusetts, are suing the Trump administration over its $100,000 fee for H-1B visas.
The lawsuit announced on Friday argues that the fee imposed by the administration goes far beyond the actual cost for an H-1B application, and goes against the Constitution and the Administrative Procedure Act.
“As the world’s fourth largest economy, California knows that when skilled talent from around the world joins our workforce, it drives our state forward. President Trump’s illegal $100,000 H-1B visa fee creates unnecessary — and illegal — financial burdens on California public employers and other providers of vital services, exacerbating labor shortages in key sectors,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement Friday.
“The Trump Administration thinks it can raise costs on a whim, but the law says otherwise,” Bonta continued.
The visa is meant for a limited number of jobs, and there are only 65,000 new ones doled out annually. However, 20,000 more H-1B visas are issued for those who have a “master’s degree or higher” from a college within the United States.
According to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website, there have been “enough petitions” sent to the federal government for both caps for fiscal year 2026.
“President Trump promised to put American workers first, and his commonsense action on H-1B visas does just that by discouraging companies from spamming the system and driving down American wages, while providing certainty to employers who need to bring the best talent from overseas,” White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers told The Daily Wire in a statement.
“The Administration’s actions are lawful and are a necessary, initial, incremental step towards necessary reforms to the H-1B program,” she continued.
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A September presidential proclamation stated that the program “has been deliberately exploited to replace, rather than supplement, American workers with lower-paid, lower-skilled labor” and it has veered off from its original intention.
The proclamation added that companies “have abused the H-1B statute and its regulations to artificially suppress wages, resulting in a disadvantageous labor market for American citizens, while at the same time making it more difficult to attract and retain the highest skilled subset of temporary workers, with the largest impact seen in critical science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields.”
The lawsuit comes at a major tipping point for immigration nationwide, as the Trump administration recently stopped immigration processes for people from 19 &#8220;high-risk&#8221; countries following the shooting of two National Guard troops in Washington, D.C., by an Afghan national who entered as part of a refugee program following the botched 2021 troop withdrawal from the Middle Eastern nation. In addition, deportation efforts are still underway as the Supreme Court will soon be tackling whether or not birthright citizenship is constitutional.

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Foreign visitors could soon be required to reveal their social media history before entering the United States, according to a proposal from the Trump administration revealed on Wednesday.
The <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/12/10/2025-22461/agency-information-collection-activities-revision-arrival-and-departure-record-form-i-94-and">proposal</a> from U.S. Customs and Border Protection would require tourists entering the United States on the Visa Waiver Program to provide the last five years of their social media activity to the U.S. government. Border Patrol said the requirement would be in step with President Donald Trump&#8217;s executive order on &#8220;Protecting the United States From Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats.&#8221;
People from dozens of countries qualify for the Visa Waiver Program, which allows foreigners to enter the United States for tourism or business for up to 90 days without obtaining a visa. The program includes many European countries, such as Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom. It also includes Australia, Israel, and Qatar. The current system only makes foreign visitors pay $40 and provide an email address, home address, phone number, and emergency contact information.
The Trump administration&#8217;s proposal would also require foreigners to provide information from what it refers to as &#8220;high value data fields,&#8221; such as phone numbers they have used over the past five years and email addresses they have used over the past 10 years. Foreign visitors would also be required to reveal the names of close family members and the phone numbers of family members used in the last five years.
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The Border Patrol proposal is open to public comment for 60 days. The Trump administration&#8217;s move to increase oversight on people coming into the United States comes as the country prepares for the 2026 World Cup, which could bring over one million international visitors to the United States. Some <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/2025/12/10/esta-social-media-united-states/">immigration lawyers</a> and people in the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/09/travel/social-media-tourists-visa-border-patrol.html">travel industry</a> have pushed back on the Trump administration&#8217;s new requirements for foreign visitors.
The State Department under Trump has pushed for more vetting of foreigners&#8217; social media accounts. In April, Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordered diplomats to investigate the social media feeds of student visa applicants. Rubio has especially targeted foreign students suspected of supporting terrorist organizations such as Hamas.
&#8220;Coming to the United States on a visa is a privilege, not a right,&#8221; Rubio <a href="https://x.com/SecRubio/status/1899892869332173133?lang=en">said</a> in March. &#8220;The Trump Administration is determined to deny or revoke your visa if you&#8217;re here to support terrorists.&#8221;
Rubio also recently told U.S. diplomats to “maintain extra vigilance” when vetting H-1B visa applicants, and the United States will require H-1B applicants to make their social media accounts public by December 15, The Washington Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/12/06/trump-censorship-h1b-visas/">reported</a>.

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Trump Admin Proposal Would Require Foreigners To Reveal Social Media History To Visit U.S.

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The White House maintained its commitment to cracking down on abuses of the American immigration system after President Donald Trump was questioned this week about the H-1B visa program, telling The Daily Wire that the Trump administration was committed to protecting American workers.  
Trump was <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5601588-trump-h1b-visas-talent/">questioned</a> on Tuesday by Fox News host Laura Ingraham about concerns over the H-1B visas, a program that allows American companies to hire foreign nationals under certain conditions. When Ingraham said there were concerns about H-1B visas being used to take away American jobs, Trump said that the program was needed to bring certain talent in. 
In a statement to The Daily Wire, White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said that the administration was committed to reforming the immigration system.  
“In record time, President Trump has done more than any president in modern history to tighten our immigration laws and put American workers first,” Rogers said. “The $100,000 payment required to supplement new H-1B visa applications is a significant first step to stop abuses of the system and ensure American workers are no longer replaced by lower-paid foreign labor.”
Trump signed a <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/09/restriction-on-entry-of-certain-nonimmigrant-workers/">proclamation</a> in September mandating companies pay $100,000 to obtain an H-1B visa. During his interview on Tuesday, Trump said the United States had &#8220;to bring in talent&#8221; to do certain jobs Americans were not trained to do. 
Rogers also pointed to Project Firewall, an initiative of the Labor Department to investigate companies that abuse the H-1B visa system. 
“The Trump administration is protecting American workers by restoring accountability in the H-1B process, ensuring that it is used to bring in only the highest-skilled foreign workers in specialty occupations and not low wage workers that will displace Americans,” she said. 
A White House official told The Daily Wire that 175 investigations had already been opened under the project, representing $15 million in back wages to workers. Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer is personally certifying the investigations, the official said. 
Ingraham also pressed Trump on previous statements about allowing around 600,000 Chinese students to study in America. As of the 2023-2024 school year, roughly 277,000 Chinese students are attending American universities. 
&#8220;We do have a lot of people coming in from China. We always have, China and other countries. We also have a massive system of colleges and universities. And if we were to cut that in half, which perhaps makes some people happy, you would have half the colleges in the United States go out of business.”
Ingraham suggested that it wasn’t in line with Trump’s MAGA agenda to admit so many foreign students, pointing to instances of intellectual property theft and espionage. Trump said that admitting foreign students brought significant revenue into the United States. 
&#8220;I actually think it&#8217;s good to have outside countries. Look, I want to be able to get along with the world,” he said.
In May, Secretary of State Marco Rubio <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/rubio-promises-to-aggesively-target-students-tied-to-chinese-communist-party">said</a> he would be &#8220;aggressively&#8221; looking to revoke the visa of Chinese students with ties to the Chinese Communist Party. Last week, it was revealed that the State Department has been revoking visas at double the rate of the Biden administration.

President Trump Swears In US Ambassador To India

Trump Admin Promises To Continue Crackdown On H-1B Visa Abuses

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The State Department said Thursday that it had revoked the visas of over 80,000 people for reasons ranging from drunk driving to support for terrorism.
The announcement put the pace of visa revocation at more than double the total last year, the Trump administration said.
“Promises made, promises kept. [President Donald Trump] and [Secretary of State Marco Rubio] will always put the safety and interests of the American people first,” the State Department wrote on X.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Promises made, promises kept 👏<a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/SecRubio?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecRubio</a> will always put the safety and interests of the American people first. <a href="https://t.co/Wy8G06WVkv">pic.twitter.com/Wy8G06WVkv</a>
— Department of State (@StateDept) <a href="https://twitter.com/StateDept/status/1986561929607893483?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 6, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Around 16,000 had their visas revoked for driving under the influence, 12,000 for assault incidents, and 8,000 for theft. Other reasons cited for the revocations include supporting terrorism, visa overstay, or being an “actual terrorist.”
The Washington Examiner <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/foreign-policy/3876259/trump-administration-state-department-revoked-80000-nonimmigrant-visas/">first reported</a> on the visa revocation. State Department principal deputy spokesman Tommy Pigott told the outlet that the Trump administration “will not hesitate to revoke visas from foreigners who undermine our laws or threaten our national security.”
“Our message is clear: Entry to America is a privilege, not a right, and we will always put the safety and interests of the American people first,” he added.
In September, the State Department <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-admin-revokes-visas-of-foreigners-who-celebrated-charlie-kirks-assassination">revoked</a> the visas of foreign nationals who made celebratory remarks about the assassination of Charlie Kirk. Individuals from Argentina, South Africa, Mexico, Brazil, and Paraguay all lost their status over remarks on Kirk’s killing.
In one instance, an Argentine national said that Kirk “devoted his entire life spreading racist, xenophobic, misogynistic rhetoric” and deserved to burn in hell.
“The United States has no obligation to host foreigners who wish death on Americans. The State Department continues to identify visa holders who celebrated the heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk,” a State Department official said at the time.
In May, Rubio was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/rubio-promises-to-aggesively-target-students-tied-to-chinese-communist-party">directed</a> by Trump to start aggressively revoking the visas of Chinese students with close ties to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in “critical fields.” Rubio said the department would be increasing scrutiny for approving future applications from China and Hong Kong.

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‘A Privilege, Not A Right’: Trump Admin Doubles Visa Revocations Rate From Biden Era

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News on the economy is all over the place, but a solid thread runs through it: many recent American college graduates can’t find jobs. Not only are employers not hiring, they’re laying off left and right. Amazon and United Parcel Service are each cutting more than 14,000 jobs, and the Wall Street Journal <a href="https://www.wsj.com/economy/jobs/white-collar-jobs-ai-324b749c?st=BLfhsb&amp;reflink=article_email_share">says</a> tens of thousands of white-collar jobs are being cut at other companies.
Yet at the same time, the U.S. immigration system permits thousands of foreign college graduates to enter the job market in direct competition with Americans. Companies employing them don’t have to pay the same payroll taxes as they do when hiring American citizens and permanent residents. This gives foreign students an unfair advantage over American graduates.
The program allowing foreign graduates to work is called Optional Practical Training (OPT). It was <a href="https://cis.org/sites/default/files/2017-10/miano-OPT.pdf">started</a> decades ago by the administrative state through regulation, without any express congressional authorization. Over time, and through collusion between Washington and large employers, OPT was expanded into a pathway for foreign students who completed their studies to remain working for years, or indefinitely, in the U.S. while seeking permanent residence.
Given the brutal job market, the underlying premise for OPT no longer applies. Why allow masses of temporary foreign students to remain in the U.S. and enter the work force right out of college when your own graduates can’t get jobs? The argument for eliminating this program has never been stronger. As Lora Ries <a href="https://wng.org/roundups/weighing-the-price-of-100-000-worker-visas-1759852411#:~:text=Ries%20from%20the%20Heritage%20Foundation,preferred%20hiring%20for%20American%20workers.">argues</a>, we need to “allow American students and American workers a fair shake at applying for jobs, being interviewed for jobs, being hired for jobs, and being retained at their jobs.”
<a href="https://www.stlouisfed.org/on-the-economy/2025/aug/recent-college-grads-bear-brunt-labor-market-shifts">Unemployment</a> of college graduates aged 23-27 is a few percentage points higher than the national average of 4%. The <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/15/business/long-term-unemployment-college-grads.html">long-term unemployment</a> rate (more than 6 months out of work) in the country for that age group is 26%, the highest in three years. And of those college graduates who are employed, over half are working in jobs that <a href="https://www.wsj.com/lifestyle/careers/college-degree-jobs-unused-440b2abd">don’t require a degree</a>.
It’s fair to argue that many recent graduates got degrees that are patently useless in a tight market. Anything ending in “studies” comes to mind, or mass-produced degrees from diploma mills whose quality is not respected by employers. But graduates with the vaunted Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math degrees are faring badly, too. Graduate <a href="https://money.com/college-grads-stem-degrees-unemployed/">unemployment</a> for computer engineering graduates was 7.5%, and for physics it was 7.8%.
The reasons for the sudden drop in demand for educated workers are unclear. One cause is that companies are searching for efficiencies and cutting costs in a competitive market. Another major factor is the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Companies are using AI to streamline their business models from top to bottom, which means they are replacing humans with bots.
Labor-saving robots, now supercharged with AI, are a threat to traditional pathways into the labor market for people. <a href="https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/operations/amazon-robotics-robots-fulfillment-center">Amazon</a> has over a million of them doing warehouse and shipping work formerly done by people.
We don’t know how the deployment of AI is going to play out. Maybe it will exponentially increase productivity, and we’ll end up in a cashless, Star Trek world where no one works unless they want to. Maybe the machines will take over and wipe us out, as in the Terminator movies. Or maybe AI will be just one more leap forward, like the printing press, electricity, or the internet, that requires a massive adjustment of our labor force and economy.
Whatever the future holds, it is the primary responsibility of the generations who hold the money and power – that’s mostly Baby Boomers and Generation X – to take care that a pathway still exists for coming generations to get jobs and houses, start families, and have a chance to prosper. Student visas for foreign nationals, the OPT program, and work visas are not set in stone. They can be adjusted or even eliminated when the domestic conditions make them unjustifiable.
Congress should end the OPT program while we figure out how to employ, or retrain, the rising graduate workforce of American citizens. Joseph Edlow, head of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/stuartanderson/2025/05/22/snubbing-trump-immigration-nominee-will-end-student-practical-training/">said</a> he wants to “remove the ability for employment authorizations for F-1 students beyond the time that they are in school.” That’s a good start.
* * *
Simon Hankinson is a senior research fellow in The Heritage Foundation’s Border Security and Immigration Center and author of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Ten-Woke-Commandments-Must-Obey/dp/1680533614">&#8220;The Ten Woke Commandments (You Must Not Obey)&#8221;</a> from Academica Books.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Trump Says Harvard Should Cap Foreign Students At 15%

The College Lie: How Washington’s Visa Loopholes Hand Good Jobs To Foreign Workers

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Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) is done waiting — and after last week’s bombshell indictment of a Hamas-linked terrorist hiding out in Louisiana, he&#8217;s <a href="https://freebeacon.com/national-security/cotton-urges-dhs-to-review-biden-era-visas-after-indictment-of-alleged-hamas-terrorist-living-in-louisiana/">calling</a> for a top-down security purge of Biden-era immigration policies.
On Wednesday, Cotton issued a <a href="https://freebeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/dhs_letter.pdf">letter</a> to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem demanding an immediate, comprehensive audit of all visas granted since 2021 — focusing specifically on applicants from high-risk nations like Egypt, Gaza, and elsewhere in the Middle East. The trigger? The arrest of Mahmoud Amin Ya’Qub al-Muhtadi, a 33-year-old Gazan national who allegedly took part in the brutal October 7, 2023, Hamas massacre in Israel — then slipped into the U.S. using a fraudulent visa under the Biden administration.
Cotton minced no words. “Since October 7, 2023, thousands of visa applications from Palestinians have been processed through Egypt, often without adequate review of digital footprints or terrorist watchlist cross-checks. The vetting process for al-Muhtadi’s application overlooked easily accessible evidence of his terrorist ties,” he wrote. “I urge DHS to conduct an audit of all visas issued through high-risk countries since 2021, prioritizing potential affiliations with Hamas or other designated terrorist groups.”
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The evidence is chilling. Federal prosecutors revealed al-Muhtadi’s cell phone was geolocated near Kibbutz Kfar Aza, the site of one of the deadliest Hamas-led slaughters on Oct. 7, where 60 innocents — some of them Americans — were butchered. FBI documents show al-Muhtadi issued battlefield-style commands over messaging apps: “Bring the rifles,” “get ready,” and “If you have a full magazine, bring it to me.” He wasn&#8217;t just a foot soldier. He was organizing fighters.
And yet, this man — an open member of the National Resistance Brigades, the armed wing of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) — was granted a visa and green card by the Biden administration after applying in Cairo. His social media? Filled with images of him in fatigues, training with Russian weapons. All of this slipped past the State Department’s so-called “vetting.”
Al-Muhtadi entered through Dallas-Fort Worth in September 2024, lived in Tulsa, then Lafayette, Louisiana — where he was working in a restaurant when federal agents finally caught up with him. Cotton warned that al-Muhtadi is just one of many who may have quietly slipped into the U.S. under Biden’s lax oversight.
Cotton is now demanding a real-time terrorist watchlist that would proactively screen applicants from extremist-linked regions and immediate enhanced social media checks. &#8220;No terrorist should be able to slip through undetected,&#8221; he wrote, urging DHS and the FBI to coordinate.
This isn’t the first time Cotton’s led the charge on national security. In July, as pro-Hamas mobs defaced U.S. monuments and waved terrorist flags in D.C., Cotton introduced the No Visas for Violent Criminals Act, mandating deportation within 60 days for foreign nationals convicted of protest-related crimes. And last December, he introduced a bill requiring the U.S. to drop the term “West Bank” in favor of “Judea and Samaria,” reinforcing historical Jewish claims to the land.
Cotton’s broader message? America was at risk — not because terrorists are sneaking across borders—but because they were being invited in by a government asleep at the switch. The Biden administration’s blind spots weren’t just ideological — they were lethal.

Sen. Tom Cotton

Tom Cotton Pushes Full Purge Of Biden Immigration Policies Over Terrorist Caught In U.S.

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Tom Cotton

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