From what I can find online, it is technically correct that a visa only comes into play when travelling, as in you need a valid one to enter the U.S… Once inside the U.S., your passport and foreign drivers license or identification card are your standard means of ID, so it’s not like you carry a visa around at all times or anything.
That said, it seems the laws on the book as written do specify that someone who has entered the country on a valid visa, but stays past the expiration date of that visa and does not apply for renewal, is technically no longer legally visiting the country and can be deported. In the past this almost never happened. At worst, the person could seek legal aid to immediately reapply, and they were permitted to remain as long as an application was in progress. Criminal activity is about the only thing that will get a visa revoked and the holder deported.
Or at least, it was. Between the way the laws seem to be structured, and the way the Trump EO clearly states that all non-diplomatic visas from the seven countries are revoked effective immediately, anyone holding one of those visas is now in danger. If Trump/Bannon so desires, they can now instruct ICE and DHS to arrest, detain and deport the revoked visa holders. It would be unprecedented, but then again, it’s been 10 days of unprecedented behavior from the Alt-White House…
Conspiracy theory time: Why this, and why now? Why focus on the Muslim issue right now, when so many other more important domestic problems are out there to be solved. Why do this when there hasn’t been any real terrorist activity on U.S. soil recently? The conspiracy answer, because it’s setting the stage for something. If the EO is out there, and it technically can result in deportation for all non-diplomat citizens in the U.S. from the countries on the list, then all that’s missing is a catalyst to push the whole situation over the edge.
Think about what is coming up this Sunday. Now think about how if Bannon and his alt-right cronies were to stage something that they made look like an attack by Islamic Extremists, how that would play right into the current situation. They could immediately add countries to the list, and start rounding up and deporting people within hours. The protests would get out of control in major cities everywhere, and President Bannon would authorize police and the National Guard to use force to quell the discontent. In effect, martial law could be declared on both coasts and in large cities in the U.S… All in the name of “protecting our citizens”.
I know, it’s a lot of leaps, and believe me, I am sick to my stomach when I think about how quickly I’ve gone from rational, reasonable person to seeing Fourth Reich conspiracies around every corner. I’ve become the very ideological nutball I used to make fun of all the time. Unlike those nutballs though, I would be very happy to be proven completely wrong, in fact, it’s what I hope for the most.
