- The Trump administration announced it has revoked more than 300,000 US visas since January 2025, surpassing a previous count of 175,000 in August 2025
- At least three Kenyan nationals, including a former NFL player, a PhD student, and a nurse, were deported from the United States in separate incidents in 2026
- The Department of Homeland Security listed 49 Kenyans on its 'Worst of the Worst' removal database, the largest single African national group on the list
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The Trump administration has revoked more than 300,000 US visas since President Donald Trump returned to office in January 2025, the State Department confirmed on Tuesday, October 20, 2026.
Source: Getty Images
This marked a sharp escalation in what officials describe as the most aggressive immigration enforcement campaign in modern American history.
State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott made the announcement on X, stating that the Trump administration "has revoked more visas at a faster pace than any administration in history."
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He added that the administration maintains "zero tolerance for foreigners here on visas who break the law, commit fraud, or undermine our national security."
The October 2026 figure represents an increase of more than 125,000 revocations from the 175,000 recorded in an August 2025 update.
Kenyan Nationals Caught in the Crackdown
The enforcement drive has directly affected Kenyan citizens in the United States, with at least three high-profile deportation cases recorded in 2026 alone.
Daniel Ogama Adongo, 37, the first Kenyan to play in the National Football League, was deported on June 20, 2026, following a removal order issued on March 23.
Immigration authorities cited a visa overstay after 2016 and a criminal record that included convictions for felony intimidation, battery, and criminal mischief in Indiana.
Kennedy Orwa, a Kenyan doctoral student at the University of Washington's Information School, was detained by Customs and Border Protection officers at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on April 7, 2026, and removed the following day alongside his 13-year-old son.
His F-1 student visa was cancelled without explanation, and a protest staged by the university's graduate student union at the airport could not prevent the removal.
Maureen Wanjiru, a 38-year-old nurse who had lived in California for two decades, was deported on September 22, 2026, despite holding no criminal record and reportedly never missing a required immigration appointment.
Her detention during a routine ICE check-in in San Francisco on August 14 was linked to a final removal order dating back to February 2012.
Her husband, a naturalised US citizen, and their two children subsequently left the United States to be with her in Kenya.
Beyond these individual cases, the Department of Homeland Security has published a "Worst of the Worst" removal database listing 125 African nationals facing imminent deportation.
Kenyans make up the largest single national group on that list, with 49 individuals named. ICE data further shows 1,282 Kenyan nationals on the agency's non-detained docket carrying final orders of removal.
Rising costs of legal immigration in the US
The administration has simultaneously made legal immigration pathways more costly.
As reported earlier on TUKO.co.ke, the US government has proposed a fee of $70,000 for international students seeking post-graduation work authorisation through the Optional Practical Training programme and a $100,000 fee on certain H-1B visa applications.
The US government has also moved to formalise the KSh 13 million H-1B visa fees.
For Kenyans holding valid US visas or planning to apply, immigration attorneys advise full compliance with visa conditions, complete and truthful disclosure of all required information, and awareness that social media activity is now subject to screening by US authorities.
Source: TUKO.co.ke