…agencies will take immediate appropriate actions to crack down on visa overstays – Noem
The United States President, Donald Trump has ordered an urgent crackdown on visa overstays in the country, iNews Times reports.
This development is following the arrest of an Egyptian national, Mohammed Solima, for allegedly setting eight Americans on fire in Boulder, Colorado.
The directive, issued by Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, aims to identify and deport with immediate effect individuals who have overstayed their visas.
According to the authorities, Solima had overstayed his visa and had remained in the country “unlawfully” since 2022.
Solima now faces federal hate crime charges alongside multiple state felony counts.
The incident has raised concerns about national security and the need for stricter immigration enforcement.
Noem in a statement vowed that all individuals found to have overstayed their visas would be located, prosecuted, and deported.
“There is no room in the United States for the rest of the world’s terrorist sympathizers,” the statement said.
“Anyone who thinks they can come to America and advocate for antisemitic violence and terrorism – think again. You are not welcome here. We will find you, deport you, and prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law,” Noem stated.
According to a report by the US Department of Homeland Security, hundreds of thousands of temporary visa holders overstay their permitted duration each year.
In 2023, an estimated 565,000 temporary visa holders overstayed their permitted duration, with nearly 500,000 remaining in the country illegally.
The report also noted that student and exchange visa holders had an overstay rate of nearly four per cent, with some countries recording significantly higher figures.
For instance, more than 70 per cent of students from Equatorial Guinea, 54 per cent from Eritrea, and 40 per cent from Burma who were supposed to leave in 2023 did not do so by year’s end.
In response to the growing concern over visa overstays, Noem has directed the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to accelerate the review of immigration records to identify visa overstays.
The agencies will take immediate appropriate actions to crack down on visa overstays, which Noem attributed to the Biden Administration’s failure to enforce the law.
The crackdown on visa overstays is expected to have significant implications for immigration enforcement in the United States.
As the government seeks to strengthen its borders and prevent potential security threats, individuals who have overstayed their visas can expect to face severe consequences, including prosecution and eventual deportation, iNews Times reports.
