Who Is Marco Rubio?

My VIP for this week is Marco Rubio, the current Secretary of State. The Trump administration and, more specifically, the Department of State, has intensified and enhanced the vetting of foreign nationals who come to the United States. Because of their efforts, a record number of visas have been revoked, according to Candace Hathaway at Blaze Media.

The Department of State announced that in 2025, it revoked over 100,000 foreign visas, including 8,000 student visas and 2,500 specialized worker visas. That figure is more than double the number of visas that were revoked in 2024 – 40,000 – under former President Joe Biden’s leadership.

Foreign nationals whose visas were canceled included those who had encounters with U.S. law enforcement for criminal activity, the State Department reported….

The majority of those revoked by the State Department were for business and tourist travelers who overstayed their visas, Fox News Digital reported.

Some students and specialized workers who had their visas revoked also reportedly lost their legal status.

Half of the specialized workers whose visas were revoked had previously been arrested for drunk driving; 30% for assault, battery, or confinement charges; and 20% for theft, child abuse, substance abuse and distribution, and fraud  and embezzlement charges.

A department spokesperson told Fox News Digital that nearly 500 students lost their visas for charges related to drug possession and distribution.

The State Department announced in August plans to review all of the more than 55 million current visa holders to uncover potential ineligibility, such as overstays, criminal activity, public safety threats, and ties to terrorism.

“The Trump administration will continue to put America first and protect our nation from foreign nationals who pose a risk to public safety or national security,” State Department principal deputy spokesperson Tommy Piggott told Fox News Digital.

During a press conference last month, Secretary of State Marco Rubio addressed the administration’s increased efforts to revoke and deport foreign nationals.

“Who you allow to visit your country should reflect the national interest. We said that from the very beginning,” Rubio told reporters.

“There are [sometimes] we’ll deny people visas because of activities they’ve undertaken overseas,” he continued. “Other times it’s people that have visas but are in the United States doing things that run counter to our national interests. And the law gives us the right – and, in fact, I would argue, the obligation – to remove people like that from our country.”