The Trump administration is leveraging advanced artificial intelligence to embark on an extensive review of over 55 million visa holders, potentially creating the largest immigration operation in U.S. history.
However, in reality, the massive vetting process will likely affect a much smaller group than publicly noted. It acts as psychological manipulation to prompt mass self-deportations, a former State Department employee reveals to the Daily Mail.
‘They don’t need to vet 55 million individuals. The intention is to declare a wide-reaching effort to urge those aware of their ineligibility, such as visa overstayers, to leave voluntarily before federal authorities apprehend and penalize them,’ the employee explains.
The State Department assures that all visa holders will undergo ‘continuous vetting’ to identify potential deportation triggers, like visa overstays, criminal activities, or terrorism links. Social media accounts and immigration records of specific countries will also be examined.
This sweeping initiative follows Trump’s recent restriction on student visas and coincides with a 20% staff cut at the State Department, making AI technology essential for such a large-scale operation.
‘It’s not about having enough people, especially after staffing reductions. It’s about the ability to execute,’ the former official noted, questioning the effectiveness of AI in matching 55 million identities against eligibility criteria.
Experts caution that relying on automated tools will likely mean that some people could be targeted or even forced out of the country unjustly.
The Trump administration has launched a sweeping review of more than 55 million people holding valid U.S. visas — and now, sources familiar with the process tell Daily Mail that they are turning to cutting-edge AI technology to do it
The State Department told Daily Mail that as part of this new process, all U.S. visa holders, including visitors from many countries, will face ‘continuous vetting,’ as they look for any reasons that tourists could be barred from admission to or continue to live in the United States
The administration is already using AI-powered automated services for Trump’s student visa crackdown, recently terminated State Department staff tell Daily Mail.
‘They have to say they will look at all 55 million visa holders… but they’re going to prioritize certain countries. I am sure you can guess which ones… but they can’t say that,’ a State Department employee familiar with the process said.
The targeting strategy has stunned even current officials. ‘That sounds insane. I am just happy I am not in consular affairs,’ another employee told Daily Mail.
Immigration experts are demanding transparency. ‘There is just a lot we don’t know about how the State Department is going about this, and I can imagine they won’t really want to tell us,’ Julia Gelatt from the Migration Policy Institute said.
Gelatt suspects the reality will be more like an ‘ongoing database check’ similar to ICE’s continuously monitored data center that tracks people without legal status.
Julia Gelatt, Associate Director of the U.S. Immigration Policy Program at the Migration Policy Institute, tells the Daily Mail that the administration should be more transparent about its planned processes for reviewing millions of entry permits
‘Different government databases are speaking to each other looking for matches, but there are concerns some have incomplete information – like FBI data – so if somebody has an arrest but is ultimately found innocent, that might not be recorded,’ Gelatt explained.
She fears visas will be wrongly revoked based on faulty data or political opinions Trump opposes, pointing to spring student visa cases where ‘people who had any interaction with law enforcement, not arrests, had their visas revoked.’
Recent examples prove the system’s flaws. In April, Japanese BYU student Suguru Onda had his visa mistakenly terminated – likely by an AI software error – over a fishing citation and speeding tickets, despite an otherwise spotless record.
His attorney told NBC officials aren’t thoroughly checking AI-flagged cases, and Onda’s situation isn’t isolated.
Technology analyst Rob Enderle, president and principal analyst at the Enderle Group, says the odds of this ending very poorly for many people is ‘exceptionally high’ – adding that these AI platforms aren’t always being used properly
Technology analyst Rob Enderle warns the odds of AI-powered visa reviews ‘ending very poorly for many people is exceptionally high,’ saying the platforms prioritize speed over accuracy.
‘There is a far greater focus on productivity than quality. That means you can’t rely on the results… this could result in either someone being deported in error, or found to be compliant in error,’ Enderle said.
The concerns aren’t theoretical. On March 25, Turkish Tufts University student Rümeysa Öztürk was arrested by DHS agents after her F-1 visa was revoked and transferred to an ICE facility in Louisiana, drawing sharp criticism from lawmakers and civil rights groups over politically motivated targeting.
‘Every single student visa revoked under the Trump Administration has happened because the individual has either broken the law or expressed support for terrorism,’ a State Department official told Fox News.
Enderle says the system should undergo extensive testing alongside human reviewers until error rates drop to acceptable levels, but doubts that will happen given staff cuts.
Migration Policy Institute’s Gelatt calls the 55 million figure wasteful, believing many targeted don’t even live in the United States.
Officials add that all the ‘available information’ for visa verification will include social media accounts, as well as any immigration papers and records from their country of origin
‘If you have tens of millions of people around the country, what info do you have access to, and how reliable can it be?’ Gelatt said. Adding, ‘It’s one thing to deal with someone linked to a terrorist organization; this is something else entirely.’
Since Trump took office in January, the State Department says that roughly 6,000 student visas have been revoked to date— about 4,000 of which were taken from international students who violated the law.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, there were almost 13 million green-card holders and almost 4 million people in the U.S. who were on temporary visas last year.
