Foreign visitor visas granted by the U.S. dropped by 13 percent year-over-year under President Donald Trump, according to analysis by Politico.
Citing State Department data, Politico found the precipitous drop over a 12-month period compared to fiscal year 2016.
It's unclear whether the drop can be ascribed to fewer permits being granted or fewer people applying for the visas, or some combination of both, Politico reports.
But immigration advocates point to the anti-immigration rhetoric of the Trump administration as Reason No. 1; it's not a coincidence, they say, that the drop in visas correlates with Trump's iterative travel bans, which many have dubbed a Muslim ban.
"There's been a concerted effort … to really slow down the wheels of immigration," Sirine Shebaya, a senior staff attorney with Muslim Advocates, told Politico. "There are particular immigrant populations that this administration does not see as fully belonging here in the United States, and it includes Muslims, it includes immigrants of color [and] it includes people from Africa."
However, the drops also were seen in non-Muslim countries; China was granted tens of thousands fewer visas compared to 2016, Politico reports.
"Visa demand is cyclical and affected by various factors at the local and international level," a State Department official told Politico.
Politico's analysis comes in the aftermath of an announcement by the State Department late last week that nearly everyone who visits the country will be required to document their social media history from the past five years.
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