President Donald Trump’s administration appears to have amplified its efforts to crack down on radical college campus protests, revoking visas for more than 1,300 foreign students, according to an analysis from Inside Higher Ed.
The publication reported that as of Wednesday morning, it verified that 1,321 students have had their legal status changed by the Department of State.
‘Visiting America is not an entitlement.’
A chart on the outlet’s website showed a breakdown of how many foreign students at each university were affected.
According to the chart, the University of Texas System had the greatest number of impacted students. A Monday article from the Austin American-Statesman stated that 176 students within the school’s system had their visas revoked.
Randa Safady, the UT System’s vice chancellor of external relations, told the news outlet, “UT institutions learn of the revocation of student visas or immigration status changes by checking the Federal Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), a federal tracking system for exchange visitors.”
“As of Friday, April 11, the UT System learned that 176 students have been affected by the action,” Safady added.
Northwest Missouri State University was listed second among those most affected, with 43 students losing their legal status. A local report from WDAF-TV found that five of the individuals were current students, and 38 were optional practical training students who had already graduated but remained in the U.S.
Dr. Lance Tatum, the university’s president, stated, “Please know this situation continues to evolve and Northwest’s International Involvement Center is working directly with the impacted students to offer guidance. However, these students also are being advised that they depart the U.S. immediately to avoid accruing unlawful presence.”
Ashley Mowreader, the author of the Inside Higher Ed report, told the Daily Caller News Foundation, “It’s very unclear what is driving these revocations.”
“The government has provided little to no explanation,” she said. “What we’ve heard from campus officials is that some of the students affected weren’t involved in campus protests.”
In March, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the agency had already pulled at least 300 student visas in response to Trump’s January executive order vowing to combat anti-Semitism. The action pledged to cancel student visas and “deport Hamas sympathizers.”
“To all the resident aliens who joined in the pro-jihadist protests, we put you on notice: Come 2025, we will find you, and we will deport you. I will also quickly cancel the student visas of all Hamas sympathizers on college campuses, which have been infested with radicalism like never before,” Trump stated.
Last week, Rubio penned an op-ed for Fox News in which he said that “visiting America is not an entitlement.”
“It is a privilege extended to those who respect our laws and values. And, as secretary of state, I will never forget that,” he wrote.
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