How the Trump administration is expanding its immigration crackdown to people entering legally

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration has trained much of its immigration crackdown on people who entered the United States illegally from Mexico and elsewhere, but it is intensifying another battle, this time with people who come legally.

The State Department has paused all immigrant visa applications while it briefs consular officials around the world on a new policy that aims to keep out people who are considered potential drains on public coffers.

The administration is also preparing to revoke the business and tourism visas of up to 200,000 foreigners who applied for asylum, which The Associated Press first reported this week. It would be the largest single mass revocation of visas in U.S. history and would likely face legal challenges.

“The thing linking them is a general philosophy that immigration is bad for the United States and that the Trump administration is looking for all of the ways it can to button down our immigration system to allow in fewer people," said Julia Gelatt, associate director of the U.S. immigration policy program at the Migration Policy Institute.

The pause is related entirely to new rules about a “public charge” requirement that numerous consular officers in U.S. embassies around the world had questions about, according to a State Department official who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

It began in early August and is not expected to last beyond early to mid-September, the official said, noting that most people affected by the pause had interviews scheduled for August but that none of them had been canceled. Those interviews will be rescheduled for September, October and November.

Anybody applying for an immigrant visa outside the U.S. could be affected by the pause, experts said, mainly those seeking to come on family grounds, including parents, spouses, children or siblings of U.S. citizens.

Gelatt cautioned, though, that rescheduling a visa appointment may not be easy. “They’re hard to get, and so having to reschedule is a big challenge for people,” she said.

Other types of immigrant visas, like those for workers who have an employer sponsoring them, are not affected because they can demonstrate earnings and would not be a “public charge."

“We need to see how long this pause lasts. It sounded like it would be short, just to make time for training, but if it does last longer, I imagine we’ll see litigation," Gelatt said.

A policy that halted the issuance of visas to immigrants from 75 countries was in place from January to mid-August, when a court struck it down. It could be seen as a precedent.

In tightening the public charge rules, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security, revived a rule that could deny green cards to immigrants who use public benefits such as food stamps, Medicaid and housing vouchers.

Unless the decision is challenged or revised, 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 or are now seeking asylum, according to State Department documents obtained by The Associated Press and two U.S. officials. The action will be taken in coordination with DHS.

The State Department has not said how many visas will be revoked, but some experts and immigration lawyers point out that the measure will have no consequences for those already in the United States who have applied for asylum.

“The goal is instead to send a message that this administration is focused on enforcement and that people who want to live in the United States should not think about coming on a tourist visa and then seeking asylum,” Gelatt said. “For people who already have a tourist visa that’s being revoked, it really is not going to affect them because they already have lodged their asylum application and are waiting in line for that asylum adjudication. The temporary visa really doesn’t matter anymore.”

Asylum claims can take years to decide. Tourist and business visas, on the other hand, allowed stays of about six months. If the visa holders request asylum, their ability to stay in the U.S. depends on their open asylum cases and not on their visas, according to experts.

For years, people who apply for tourist or business visas have had to demonstrate to U.S. officials that they plan to return home when their time expires. Any indication that they wish to stay permanently is grounds for denying their visa.

Plans to revoke visas are consistent with Trump's long-held belief that asylum is largely a sham.

“People in the U.S. and all over the world are fed up with bogus asylum claims. Asylum isn’t supposed to be a loophole to circumvent immigration laws,” Christopher Landau, a deputy secretary of state, said Monday.

In April, the administration said consulates would deny visas to applicants who indicate they were afraid to go home.

Salomon reported from Miami