10-04-2025
Trump administration terminates more UW-Madison student visas
More international students studying at Wisconsin colleges and universities have had their visas revoked by the Trump administration, scrambling their plans to study and work in the U.S.
A terminated visa generally means the student must immediately leave the U.S. There typically is no grace period.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison identified at least 13 cases Monday. A university spokesperson said there were at least 26 terminations as of Wednesday afternoon, which included 15 current students and 11 recent alumni on their student visas but working.
UW-Milwaukee Chancellor Mark Mone said in a message to faculty and staff there were 10 students or alumni who had their visas terminated as of Wednesday morning. Mone said there was no reason to believe the 10 canceled visas at UWM had anything to do with protest activity; some other students nationally have been targeted for their participation in pro-Palestinian protests last year.
Some student visas were revoked for no apparent reason or for minor violations, such as speeding tickets, that previously would not warrant such a serious consequence, according to lawsuits filed by students in other states. The Presidents' Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration, which represents more than 570 public and private colleges and universities across the country, said recent revocations appeared to lack cause and raised concerns about fairness and due process.
"The government's actions and rhetoric create an atmosphere of fear, threaten academic freedom, chill free expression, and jeopardize the well-being of noncitizen members of our campus communities," the organization said in a statement.
The 10 UWM cases may be part of the 14 non-Madison cases the UW System previously identified but did not break down by institution. UW System spokesperson Mark Pitsch said Thursday he had no updated number to share and did not immediately clarify whether the UWM cases were included in the 14 across the UW System.
The State Department has offered little insight into how and why specific students were selected for visa termination.
"We don't go into the rationale for what happens with individual visas," State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said at a Tuesday press conference. "What we can tell you is that the department revokes visas every day in order to secure our borders and to keep our community safe, and we'll continue to do so."
(This story may be updated.)
Contact Kelly Meyerhofer at kmeyerhofer@ or 414-223-5168. Follow her on X (Twitter) at @KellyMeyerhofer.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Trump administration terminates more UW-Madison student visas
