Just one day after a Louisiana judge ruled that the Trump administration can proceed with its deportation of pro-Palestine Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil, several universities in the South are reporting that some of their international students have had their visas revoked.
According to NBC, both public and private universities across the South are reporting that some of their students have had their statuses as welcome scholars revoked, with Texas A&M University and Florida International University reporting significantly larger numbers.
A spokesperson for Texas A&M said that 23 of the university’s international attendees have had their student visas revoked, while a spokesperson for FIU said 18 of their students had suffered the same fate.
Other institutions affected include New Mexico Sate, the University of North Carolina, Middle Tennessee State, Rice University, and the University of Texas at Austin.
The visa revocations are the result of an aggressive policy by the Trump administration, led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, to supposedly eradicate antisemitism from the U.S. Their argument is that university students who oppose Israel’s ongoing war with Hamas, which has resulted in at least 50,000 Palestinian deaths in Gaza, are a significant source of antisemitism in the country.
Rubio’s argument against Khalil, a leading figure in the pro-Palestine encampment at Columbia University last year who was detained by ICE last month, was that he was antisemitic and a “threat to U.S. foreign policy goals.”
Khalil was detained despite his status as a lawful permanent resident with a green card and a lack of criminal charges being brought against him. Instead, the Trump administration’s case relies on a section of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 that states the Secretary of State can deport aliens if they believe their presence will have “serious negative consequences” for U.S. foreign policy.
Last month, Rubio estimated that 300 foreign students had their visas revoked, though the number has undoubtedly grown since then.
A proposal seen by reporters in March revealed that the Trump administration was considering blocking specific universities from accepting any foreign students if it feels that too many of them are “pro-Hamas.” The move would likely primarily target universities that have seen significant pro-Palestine protests, including encampments like those at Columbia and UCLA.
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