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Hundreds of international students at colleges across the U.S. have had their visas revoked, as the Trump administration carries out a sweeping crackdown on immigration that attorneys and advocates say is trampling free speech rights.
From coast to coast, international college students and scholars have been told that their visas have been terminated and that they should self-deport. Several high-profile incidents involving noncitizen students being detained by federal immigration officials and shipped off to detention centers far away from where they reside in the U.S. have also raised alarm.
Multiple schools have said that they weren't informed of the visa revocations or given a reason for them, alleging they only found out through their databases of international students or because immigration officials made arrests, The Wall Street Journal reported.
According to NBC News’ count, international students in at least 24 states have had their visas revoked, with the government often pointing to a rarely used provision in immigration law that allows for the deportation of noncitizens if the secretary of state determines that their presence has “potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said late last month that the government had already revoked 300 visas or more for students and other visitors, some of which he said was due to their pro-Palestinian activism.
"We do it every day. Every time I find one of these lunatics, I take away their visas," he said.
Universities have long relied on an international student body to enrich their cultural and academic environments and to contribute to their research facilities. They also bring economic benefits; according to data from the NAFSA: Association of International Educators, international college students brought in $43.8 billion and supported more than 370,000 jobs during the 2023-2024 academic year.
The spate of visa cancellations and arrests of noncitizen students have alarmed civil rights advocates who accuse the administration of targeting noncitizens for their political beliefs. Some colleges have also warned their international students against traveling abroad, lest they risk being deported.
Elora Mukherjee, director of the Immigrants’ Rights Clinic at Columbia Law School, told NBC News that the visa revocations appear to largely target students from nonwhite backgrounds, sending a “clear message about who is unwelcome in the United States.”
“U.S. immigration policy seems to be driven by xenophobia, white nationalism and racism right now,” Mukherjee said.