Columbia student demonstrators show support as others chain themselves to the gates of St. Paul’s Chapel at Columbia University to denounce the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil in New York City.
Credit: Reuters Photo
Under President Donald Trump, the US has taken a strong stance on international students, revoking entry visas and ordering some to leave the country. This growing crackdown has alarmed US colleges, with many accusing the Trump administration of using vague justifications and new tactics to expel foreign students.
In its ongoing efforts, the Trump administration has revoked the visas of several international students or instructed them to leave immediately. While some have been targeted for minor offenses, many have been singled out for publicly expressing pro-Palestinian views.
This aggressive action represents a stark departure from previous practices, which often allowed international students to complete their studies.
Edward Inch, president of Minnesota State University in Mankato, said that five international students had their entry visas revoked. College officials learned about the revocations after running a status check in a database of international students, following the detention of a Turkish student at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.
"These are troubling times, and this situation is unlike anything we have navigated before," Inch told the Associated Press (AP).
According to an AP report, students at various institutions—including Arizona State, Cornell, North Carolina State, the University of Oregon, and the University of Texas—lost their legal residency status with little or no warning.
Miriam Feldblum, CEO of the Presidents' Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration, stated that the new approach has led to students being ordered to leave the country with "suddeness" that institutions rarely experience.
As per AP report, the federal agencies are bypassing universities entirely, quietly deleting student records without consultation.
Earlier, when foreign students had their entry visas revoked, they were usually allowed to stay in the country as long as they kept their legal residency. If they left US, and wanted to return, they would need to renew their visa. Now, more students are losing their legal status, which puts them at risk of being arrested.
"None of this is regular practice," AP quoted Feldblum as saying
Recently, two Saudi students at North Carolina State University left the US after being told their student status had been revoked. The university is now working to help them continue their education remotely, the news agency reported.
Recently, Ranjani Srinivasan, a Fulbright recipient from India who was pursuing a doctoral degree in urban planning at Columbia University, fled to Canada after immigration authorities revoked her student visa.
Some actions are reportedly being carried out under a little-known law that allows the government to remove foreign nationals whose presence could have "serious adverse foreign policy consequences." Trump had invoked this law in a January executive order targeting antisemitism on college campuses.
The Trump administration has defended its actions by citing a rarely used provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, which grants the Secretary of State broad authority to expel foreigners deemed to pose "potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences" to the US.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio previously stated that the State Department had revoked the visas of more than 300 students and continued to revoke visas daily. However, he did not specify how many of those individuals had participated in campus protests or expressed support for Palestinians.
With growing uncertainty, education experts warn that the US may no longer be seen as a reliable destination for international students.
Fanta Aw, CEO of NAFSA, said that the current climate could prompt students to seek education in other countries. "We should not take for granted that that’s just the way things are and will always be," she told AP.