CHECK YOUR PRIVILEGE: Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt put foreign nationals on notice that a visa is a “privilege,” warning that the Trump administration will take action against anyone “deemed contrary to our country’s foreign national interests.”
At a recent White House press briefing, Karoline Leavitt emphasized that having a U.S. visa is a privilege, not a guaranteed right — a recurring line in the current administration’s rhetoric.
She stated that visas (or green cards) could be revoked if the visa-holder is deemed to act “against the national security or foreign-policy interests of the United States.”
Her remarks were cited in connection with the case of Mahmoud Khalil — a former international student — whose visa/green card was revoked under those grounds.
Media and advocacy groups note her statements have “cut sharply through America’s ongoing immigration debate,” raising alarm among immigrant communities and those concerned about free speech and civil-rights implications.