DENVER ‒ The Trump administration has revoked hundreds of international student visas across the country, setting off a desperate scramble for them to leave the United States within days.
Universities have reported some students being forced to leave immediately, in many cases after discovering their visas were canceled in the federal Student Exchange and Visitor Information System or via an unexpected text or email. Multiple universities contacted by the USA TODAY Network regarding the visa cancellations declined to discuss specifics, citing student confidentiality.
Immigration experts said they’ve never seen the federal government make such sweeping changes to the ordinarily low-profile process of hosting international students. The National Immigration Project is challenging the visa cancellations, which have affected students in California, Colorado, Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan, Massachusetts and Florida, among others.
The cancellations reflect a small percentage of the estimated 1.5 million international students studying in the United States, but have sent shockwaves through the collegiate community. Some of the cancellations appear to be connected to things as minor as roommate disputes or as off-campus traffic tickets, university officials said, while others appear to be connected to pro-Palestinian protest participation.
“I’ve been doing this for 25 years and I’ve never seen 300 students lose their visas,” said Len Saunders, a Washington state immigration attorney based near the Canadian border. “To hear that something like 300 visas were canceled out of the blue … it’s all political. To read that there’s hundreds of people having their visas canceled, you know exactly what it is.”
President Donald Trump won back the White House after campaigning on tough new immigration controls, and some conservatives have accused other countries, particularly China, of sending students to study in the United States to steal intellectual property. International students are typically ineligible for financial aid and instead usually pay full tuition, subsidizing other students.
According to the federal government, California is home to the largest number of international students, and the most popular majors among international students are computer science, language, and business administration and management. People from India and China represent the largest proportion of international students, accounting for about half of the overall enrollment, according to federal officials.
There is no central accounting of how many students have had their visas revoked or where they came from. Many of the foreign students involved in campus protests were from the Middle East.
Saunders said he’s seen a handful of students annually lose their visas over things like a drunken-driving arrest, but in many cases, students were allowed to finish out their studies.
This round of visa cancellations has prompted some students to leave immediately, including those who are close to graduating. At the University of Michigan, officials said they were trying to figure out how to help an international student finish his architectural master’s degree work despite fleeing home.
The visa cancellations appear to be different than the targeted detentions of Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil and Tufts University student Rümeysa Öztürk, largely because the students are not being detained but are instead being told to self-deport within seven days. The cancellations have sparked scattered protests, including at the University of Arizona.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said last month that he’s revoked at least 300 visas of students he described as “lunatics,” citing pro-Palestinian support or activism, activities that are normally considered protected First Amendment rights.
“It might be more than 300 at this point. We do it every day. Every time I find one of these lunatics, I take away their visas,” Rubio said at a press conference.
Colorado State University officials said six students there lost their visas, and university officials escorted some of them to the airport to fly home. It’s unclear whether the students have the right to appeal their visa revocations.
“To date, no specific justification for the visa revocations has been provided to the impacted individuals or CSU,” Kathleen Fairfax, the university’s vice provost for international affairs, said in a statement. “We are working proactively with the students to help them connect with appropriate legal resources and understand their options. CSU is providing this support based on students’ personal decisions.”
At the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, Chancellor Javier Reyes said five international students lost their visas and urged other students to check their own status. He said affected students are being offered financial assistance through the university’s “Angel Fund,” which was created during the first Trump presidency to help students affected by changes in immigration laws.
Reyes, who first came to the United States from Mexico on a student visa himself, called the American higher education system “the envy of the world” and promised international students “unwavering support as we confront this new reality.”
New York University professor Robert Cohen, who studies protest movements, said targeting students because they attended rallies or wrote pro-Palestinan letters is a thinly veiled attempt by Trump to clamp down on dissent.
“It speaks to the issue that Donald Trump and these right-wing people don’t actually believe in free speech,” Cohen said.
The American Council on Education and 15 other higher ed groups have requested a briefing from federal officials. The groups noted that Trump has the responsibility and right to safeguard national security but asked for an explanation of the decision-making process.
“Recent actions have contributed to uncertainty and impedes the ability of our institutions to best advise international students and scholars,” the groups wrote in an April 4 letter to Rubio and other officials. “It is important institutions are in a position to reassure international students so they can continue to make exceptional contributions to their campuses, communities, and the nation.”
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