The UCLA international alumni is being detained at the US-Mexico border and is being held by customs and border protection, the school confirmed late Thursday.
The student whose names are not publicly known was taken into custody Wednesday night, according to faculty and students who quickly organized a campus rally on Thursday evening.
“UCLA has learned that international graduate students were detained by the US Customs and Border Patrol while they were about to enter the US from Mexico,” UCLA Deputy Prime Minister of Strategic Communications Mary Osaco said in a statement in the Times.
“Students are under the control of CBP and we are actively working to learn more. International students are an important part of the Bruin community and are fully committed to supporting their ability to learn and thrive at UCLA.”
The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the CBP, could not immediately request comment.
There has been little publication of details about the student, including her name and nationality. The faculty member and immigration attorney seeking to contact students said they had not yet spoken to her late Thursday. They added that the student was detained at the San Isidro border south of San Diego and was able to reach UCLA contacts before she was taken into custody.
It is unclear why the student was in Mexico and what led to her detention.
Since late March, the Trump administration has suddenly cancelled more than 1,000 foreign student visas in the United States, including more than 120 in California and about 20 at UCLA. On April 4, San Diego, California, said he was detained at the US-Mexico border while international students were about to cross. In a message from the campus at the time, San Diego, California Prime Minister Pradeep Hothra said the students were “detained at the border, refused entry and deported to their home country.”
At the same time, the Department of Homeland Security, which maintains a database that confirms the registration of international students at universities, has ended the same student status. University staff learned the action after checking the database.
While Visas Grant International Students enter the United States, status in the Sevis (Student and Exchange Visitor Information Systems) database is part of what grants legal permission to stay in the United States for post-graduation research or limited training in training at JOBs.
The administration has not provided a detailed reason for cancelling visas or student registration status.
Last month, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the State Department was revoking visas held by visitors who are rebutting national interests, including those who protested Israeli war in Gaza and those facing unrelated criminal charges.
Lawyers for several students said they were told that the cancellation of the visa and Sevis was due to a criminal history check, but their lawyers said some alleged violations of students include minimal violations, such as speeding tickets. Immigration experts said such actions did not meet the level of loss of visa or student status under past administrations, including during President Trump’s first term.
More aggressive immigration enforcement measures were taken last month. It was mainly held at the Ivy League and elite campuses in the northeast, including Columbia University. Some of those students were from Arab, Muslim, or South Asian backgrounds. In its statement and legal application, the Trump administration argues that students are supporters of Hamas, a designated terrorist group, and is a threat to the US foreign policy goals.
For a detained UCLA student, it is unclear whether she was involved in pro-Palestinian activities or whether her visa was cancelled.
About 150 community members met Thursday at UCLA in front of Murphy Hall, which houses the prime minister’s office. They had signs reading a poster of Palestinian parents saying, “Don’t miss a hand from our students.” “There’s no ice, no KKK, no fascist America,” the student recited.
“We have been warning for weeks that students will be detained at universities,” said Graeme Blair, an associate professor of political science who spoke at the meeting. “I want UCLA to stand up for my students.”
Ariella Gross, a history professor at UCLA law, also spoke to the crowd. “We have a moral obligation… UC has a moral obligation,” she said.
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