US immigration quietly revoking student visas from Harvard to Stanford

By Alicia A. Caldwell

 

US immigration authorities have revoked a spate of student visas for foreign nationals at major colleges including Harvard, Tufts and Stanford, in a growing number of cases that have raised concern among campus officials.

 

The recent cancellations — often discovered by schools only after federal immigration records are updated — have affected both students and recent graduates, according to statements over the past several days from colleges across the country. The moves come amid broader efforts by the Trump administration to tighten oversight of international students, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying last month that 300 or more such visas had been canceled. 

 

“We are still trying to really get a good handle on what is happening, trying to try to track this and get a better understanding of the scope and breadth of it,” said Shev Dalal-Dheini, senior director of government relations for the American Immigration Lawyers Association.

 

Among the most high-profile cases is Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish national and PhD student at Tufts University, who was detained last month by federal agents while walking down the street. 

 

Another involves Mahmoud Khalil, a recent graduate of Columbia University, whose visa was revoked after he participated in pro-Palestinian demonstrations. Both Ozturk and Khalil are currently being held in immigration jails while the government tries to deport them.

 

But more recently, dozens of students and recent graduates in California have had their visas terminated across multiple campuses, including UCLA, UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UC San Diego, UC Santa Cruz as well as Stanford, the Los Angeles Times reported on Monday. Two unidentified students have filed lawsuits in federal court alleging their visas were canceled without due process, in some cases over minor legal infractions such as driving violations. 

 

“The university learned of six students who had their student visas revoked,” Stanford said in a statement on Friday. A university working group on immigration continues to meet, and the school said it does not share student or personnel records with immigration authorities unless legally required.

 

Harvard reported on Sunday that three current Harvard students and two recent graduates had their student visas terminated. Additional cancellations have been reported at Dartmouth College, Minnesota State University, Arizona State University, and the University of Oregon, among other schools, according to the Associated Press.

 

Officials from the State Department and Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not respond to requests for comment. 

 

The State Department has long had the authority to revoke visas, but Dalal-Dheini said the current wave appears to be broader and more coordinated than past enforcement actions.

 

Visa cancellations were among the many issues spotlighted April 5 by anti-Trump protesters at rallies in dozens of US cities. Some organizers pointed to the cases of Ozturk and Khalil as emblematic of what they see as targeting of international students and freedom of speech on campus.