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Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
More than 260 Texas international students had visas revoked, legal status changed
As part of the Trump administration's effort to remove international students from the U.S. who have participated in pro-Palestinian activism or have had criminal offenses, the federal government has revoked visas or terminated legal statuses for more than 1,000 students across the country, including hundreds in Texas. Students in some cases have been given no reason for the change in their status or have had their visas terminated for minor infractions such as parking tickets or disputes with roommates, according to media reports. Some have sued the federal government over the lack of due process, while others have self-deported out of fear. Here's what is happening in Texas: More than 260 Texas higher education students have had their visas revoked or legal status changed as of Tuesday, an American-Statesman analysis shows. Students can sometimes extend their visas to work in the U.S. after their studies for short periods. This means that recent alumni on student visas have reportedly also been affected. More: More than 170 international students at UT System schools have had visas revoked: officials Universities are limited in the information they can share under the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act, but in some cases they've shared specific numbers. The breakdown of known students who have had their legal immigration status changed is as follows: University of Texas System — 176, Randa Safady, vice chancellor for communications, confirmed Monday. Safady declined to break down the numbers for the system's specific institutions. UT-Dallas, which has the second-highest percentage of international students in the state behind Rice University, recorded 19 visas revocations, according to the Texas Tribune, which also reported that UT-Arlington had 27 students affected. UT-Austin confirmed that "multiple" students had visa changes but would not confirm specific numbers. Texas A&M System — 38, Jim Suydam spokesperson for the system, confirmed Monday. Texas A&M: 23 Texas A&M University Kingsville: 9 Texas A&M University Corpus Christi: 3 Prairie View A&M University: 1 Texas A&M University Texarkana: 1 Texas A&M International University: 1 Texas State University System — 10 people, spokesperson Mike Wintemute confirmed Tuesday. Lamar University: 5 Sam Houston State University: 3 Texas State University: 2 Texas Tech University System - at least three, the system confirmed Tuesday Last week, Texas Tech University said three students had their visas revoked, spokesperson Kristina Woods Butler confirmed to the American-Statesman. Although she declined to provide the system's updated numbers, she said that "we are committed to supporting our students to the extent permitted by law to help them navigate the disruption in their academic journeys." University of North Texas System — 30, according to a spokesperson Tuesday. UNT System spokesperson Devynn Case said the most recent data showed nine undergraduate and 21 graduate students had their visas terminated. University of Houston — a "small number," the system told the Statesman. "Since March 25, a small number of our international students have been impacted by SEVIS (Student and Exchange Visitor Information System) terminations and/or visa revocations," spokesperson Shawn Lindsey said in a statement, declining to share specific numbers. "Our practice is to notify these students directly of these changes." Texas Woman's University — Six at its flagship campus, according to the Texas Tribune. Texas Woman's University System did not respond to a Statesman request for the information by Tuesday afternoon. Rice University — Five people, according to the Houston Chronicle. International students are accepted by U.S. institutions, which then submit a form, typically an I-20, to the federal government, which then issues a visa that asserts their right to enter and stay in the country, Faye Kolly, an immigration attorney in Austin, told the Statesman. David Donatti, senior staff attorney for the ACLU of Texas, said in a statement that students are being notified of their legal status decisions without due process to correct or address alleged violations. "The federal government didn't simply revoke student visas, which would limit travel in and out of the country but took the more severe step of altering students' legal statuses," Donatti said. "Interrupting their academic and professional pursuits mid-stream and exposing them to arrest, detention, and deportation, often just weeks before the end of term and graduation ceremonies is cruel." It also means international students will likely be more averse to studying in the United States, hurting universities' ability to recruit the best talent and drive innovation, Kolly said. Some students have appealed their legal status changes. Kolly said, however, that students may preemptively self-deport due to the "climate of fear" around what will happen if they do not leave. In some cases, students were reportedly told to self-deport, according to USA Today. ICYMI: Trump administration revokes 15 TAMU student visas, UT students protest new crackdown The Trump administration threatened to deport international students involved in pro-Palestinian protests during his 2024 presidential campaign and quickly acted on such promises. In late March, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said his office was working "every day" to deport "lunatics," and pro-Palestinian protesters at Columbia University and Tufts University were detained and had their visas revoked. But there have been two more "waves" of visa revocations that don't appear to involve activism. One, Kolly described, seemed to target students with any criminal record, including parking tickets. The other seemed to be more random and nonspecific, she said, referring to vague violations of their visa status. Universities can see if a student's status has changed by checking the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System maintained by the designated school official and by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration services. Kolly said students who face visa changes have received an email from the State Department alerting them to a change of status and the reason for the change. Kolly said it's important that students who receive such an email contact their university to understand the implications, as a visa and status are connected, but they are two different things. "Visas are the stamps that are issued in passports, and they're only issued by U.S. consulates abroad," Kolly said. "What seems to be happening (is) the status is being terminated and the visa is being revoked, but you have to look at each case separately." If a visa is revoked, students should contact their university, save all their academic and immigration forms, and find a lawyer, Kolly said. In some cases, the university can resubmit a form for a student to seek to reestablish their legal status or a lawyer can fight the federal government's decision, she said. Some students have filed class action lawsuits, Kolly said. Nineteen state attorney generals have sued the federal government over its actions, seeking an injunction to temporarily block the administration from canceling student visas. International students are coveted by universities who seek world-class talent in their student bodies to drive innovation, cultural diversity and excellence. These students pay full tuition and are not eligible for financial or state aid. They are estimated to contribute about $2 billion to the Texas economy alone, according to the Higher Education Immigration Portal. Texas has more than 80,000 international students, making the number affected by the visa revocations a small percentage. But the fear of what will come next is strong and extends beyond immigrant students, Kolly said. Even U.S. citizens are calling her office to ask if they should travel, she said. "The impacts are going to be long term and ultimately devastating as we continue on this path," said Kolly, adding that it will affect trust in the immigration system for lawful immigrants who come to the United States. "My fear is that the damage is already done." This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Trump revokes visas, changes status for more than 260 Texas students
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
More than 170 international students at UT System schools have had visas revoked: officials
More than 170 students across University of Texas System educational institutions have had their visas revoked by the federal government, the system's vice chancellor for external relations confirmed to the American-Statesman on Monday. "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," according to Randa Safady, the vice chancellor. "As of Friday, April 11, the UT System learned that 176 students have been affected by the action." The Trump administration has pushed to deport foreign-born students involved in pro-Palestinian protests, which the White House has deemed as sympathetic to Hamas, the militant governing body of Gaza, which the U.S. has identified as a terrorist organization. However, it has largely been reported that some students are finding their visas terminated for reasons such as roommate disputes, traffic violations or for no explanation at all. The number of visa revocations has been spiking since last week, when officials estimated the number of students affected was more around 300, based on a late March statistic from U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who called international students who engage in pro-Palestinian protests "lunatics" and said his office is working "every day" to deport them. Inside Higher Ed, which is tracking the visa status changes, found that more than 1,000 international students have had their visas revoked across the country. Nineteen state attorney generals have sued the federal government over its action, seeking an injunction to temporarily block the administration from canceling student visas. The University of Texas confirmed that "multiple" international students in Austin have "unexpectedly" faced changes to their visas but would not confirm to the Statesman exactly how many have been affected. On Wednesday, dozens of students protested the Trump administration's student visa cancellations as well as UT, accusing the school of a lack of communication on the issue. "All international students have been put in a state of fear," said Arshia Papari, a UT sophomore and organizer with Students for a Democratic Society. This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: UT System says 176 students had visas revoked under Trump
