The United States is revoking, threatening, or suspending visas of Mexican politicians. Welcome to a situation where around 100 million Mexicans do not have a visa and nothing happens.
A ghost is moving through Mexican political circles: the threat of being suspected of criminal activity and having their visas to enter the United States taken away.
When an announcement of this nature is made, the media goes into a frenzy. Accusations start flying in all directions, along with claims and counterclaims. The targeted politicians deny everything and proudly show their visas in public appearances.
For the average Mexican, this is a distant phenomenon. Most people cannot travel to the United States, do not plan to, and do not feel any particular need or desire to do so. In that sense, there is no reason for panic. Visa possession is not a widespread goal, and for the majority of the population it is simply irrelevant to daily life.
The United States uses visa revocations as a form of political pressure.
There is no official public figure from the U.S. government on how many Mexican politicians have lost their visas. However, 2025 and 2026 reports based on government sources cited by Reuters indicate that at least 50 Mexican politicians and officials may have had their visas revoked.
What is known is the following:
The United States is not required to publicly report the names or specific reasons for each revocation.
Several media outlets have reported that the number exceeds 50 cases, and only a portion of them have become public.
Among the names that have appeared in reports or public statements are Marina del Pilar Ávila, Carlos Torres, Héctor Astudillo, Alfonso Durazo, and Américo Villarreal, although some of them have denied that their visas were canceled or have questioned the reports.
The United States has also threatened heads of state. Colombian President Gustavo Petro was publicly threatened, and he responded by saying: “Let them do it, I do not even like going to that country, I prefer other countries in the world.” The same happened with Brazilian President Lula da Silva.
The Mexican Case
Mexico has a population of about 130 million people.
The United States issued roughly 1.9 million new Border Crossing Cards to Mexicans in 2024 alone. These cards function as visitor visas and are typically valid for 10 years.
In 2023, Mexicans received about 2.3 million United States nonimmigrant visas, more than any other nationality.
However, annual issuances are not the same as the number of people who currently hold a valid visa. Many people renew existing visas, and some people hold multiple visa types.
Estimates from migration researchers and government officials over the years have often suggested that tens of millions of Mexicans have valid U.S. visitor visas or border crossing cards, but this still represents a minority of the population.
A reasonable approximation is:
About 20 to 40 million Mexicans may hold a valid U.S. visa or Border Crossing Card.
Therefore, around 90 to 110 million Mexicans likely do not currently have a valid U.S. visa.
Because neither the United States nor Mexico publishes a live count of all valid visas held by Mexican citizens, any figure is necessarily an estimate rather than an exact number.
In practical terms, this means visa revocations are a political signal aimed at a relatively small circle of public officials, not an issue that affects the daily lives or interests of the vast majority of Mexicans, who neither depend on nor prioritize having a U.S. visa.
