WashingtonWith very few exceptions, the United States usually keeps visa revocations private. However, when it considers a situation exceptionally heinous, the Trump administration seems to have loosened privacy constraints to make a public statement, as demonstrated by British punk-rap duo Bob Vylan and others.
When he announced on social media this week that the band’s visas for a forthcoming U.S. tour had been canceled, the State Department’s number two diplomat made headlines. At a music festival in the United Kingdom, the frontman of the pair led the audience in shouts of “Death to the Israel Defense Forces,” and British police are looking into whether a crime was committed.
In response to their vile outburst at Glastonbury, which included leading the audience in death chants, Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau posted that their visas had been canceled.
The band denied accusations of antisemitism and claimed in a statement that it was being singled out for criticism of the Gaza War.
For years, the State Department has opposed or refused to discuss particular cases in which visas may have been rejected or revoked under the Immigration and Nationality Act and certain legislation pertaining to the privacy of government information. There are some exceptions, such as when foreign officials and members of their immediate family are determined to be inadmissible for entry into the United States due to violations of human rights or anti-corruption laws.
However, the criteria for disclosing previously privileged information appears to have been loosened as the Trump administration launches a national crackdown on visa holders it claims have engaged in antisemitic or pro-military activities.
When questioned about the public announcement, State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce stated that foreigners who incite hatred and violence are not welcome guests in our nation.
She stated that the announcement of the revocations was made in part to demonstrate the administration’s seriousness about the requirements it will set for applicants and visa holders.
“This was a very public event that violated that very basic standard about the nature of who we want to let into the country,” Bruce said, adding that we have been open about that standard.
While some recent examples have resulted in public court cases, others have been less straightforward.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced earlier this year that he had revoked at least 300 visas and anticipated the figure will increase as part of a campaign to remove international students who the Trump administration claims are involved in pro-Hamas, anti-Israel, or antisemitic activities.
Many of those situations were not made public on their own.
One such instance was the arrest of Rumeysa Ozturk by immigration officials in Massachusetts for writing an opinion post in which she criticized Tufts University for failing to take a more forceful stance against alleged Israeli abuses in Gaza.
At the time, U.S. officials stated that her visa had been canceled due to the negative foreign policy repercussions of her being in the country.
An unsuccessful attempt to deport Beatles singer John Lennon in the 1970s and actor Charlie Chaplin in 1952 during the Truman administration are just two examples of high-profile and well-known occurrences of visas being revoked for political reasons.
According to a 2020 report by the human rights organization Amnesty International, ideological exclusion has a long history in the US and has been employed for decades as a political tactic to shield American audiences from opposing views.
Some of the world’s most prominent writers, artists, and intellectuals were denied visas by the U.S. government during the Cold War in particular because they were believed to have’subversive’ or communist ideas.
