The Trump administration continues to cause disruption and upheaval in the US’ migrant and refugee sector.

The Trump administration is preparing to revoke the business and tourism visas of up to 200,000 foreigners who have applied for or are currently seeking asylum status in the United States.

If it happens, the move would trigger the largest single mass deportation and revocation of visas and in US history and would likely face legal challenges.

The State Department is expected to announce in the coming weeks the revocation of so-called B1 and B2 visas issued between 2016 and 2026 whose holders have sought asylum, according to State Department documents obtained by US media.

In the past 18 months, the US has revoked about 175,000 visas for people who have been convicted or accused of crimes ranging from drunken driving to rape and robbery, as well as for people who have spoken out publicly against US policies, particularly in the Middle East.

The Trump administration has tried several times to end birthright citizenship, but those challenges have been rejected by courts, including the Supreme Court.

US sailor’s father arrested, released

The father of a US navy sailor who has been deployed in the Middle East for a record-breaking nine months on a US aircraft carrier was arrested by ICE, sparking a public backlash.

Following the public outcry Luis Manuel Aviles was released from immigration detention.

The arrest came as  his son was entering his ninth month on the USS Abraham Lincoln with the navy. The carrier had just set a US military record for uninterrupted time at sea and has raised concerns about supply shortages and deteriorating mental health among those serving onboard.

Mr Aviles was arrested after leaving his house to take his car to the mechanic, according to his wife, Argelia. She said her husband, a handyman in Key West, Florida, had a permit to work.

US refugee numbers plummet

The number of refugees admitted to the US has fallen significantly during President Donald Trump’s second term in office and could hit its lowest level ever this financial year, according to a report from the Pew Research Centre.

The report says the US government has admitted 10,258 refugees through the first 10 months of the 2026 financial year, which ends on September 30.

The number is down from 38,102 refugees in 2025 and 100,034 in fiscal 2024, during the Biden presidency.

The Trump administration has set an admissions ceiling for this fiscal year at 17,500 refugees, which means it still could take in more than 7,000 before the year is over. But that ceiling is the lowest that the US has had since at least the turn of the century

Afghans who fought with the US face deportation

Hundreds of Afghans who fought alongside US troops and supported the US government in Afghanistan are now worried their green cards could be revoked.

In the years leading up to the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, the US facilitated several programs for Afghans involved in military efforts to go to the US with their families.

The Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) was one of them and 160,000 were issued with more than half granted since the US closed its embassy in Kabul in 2021.

But now, five years after the US left Afghanistan, hundreds of people who came on SIVs and now have green cards have received notices from the federal government warning them that the basis for their visas has been revoked.

Judge rejects US visa ban on 75 countries

A US judge has struck down a Trump administration move to stop immigration visas being issued to applicants from 75 countries.

Federal Court judge Jeannette Vargas, of Manhattan, said the policy exceeded Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s statutory authority.

The policy was “patently unlawful” and conflicted with federal immigration law, which explicitly stripped the secretary of state of authority over consular officers’ adjudication of immigrant visas, Judge Vargas said in her ruling.