Confusion and concerns escalated at the University of California over the weekend as campus officials showed they were unaware of the cancellation of visas for dozens of international students.
On Sunday, UCLA confirmed last week that federal authorities had revoked visas for 12 community members. There are six current students and six recent alumni. In a message on campus, Prime Minister Julio Frenck implied that the government had not notified UCLA in advance. The issue was discovered during a “day-to-day audit” of the immigrant student database connected to the Department of Homeland Security, he said. The government shifted student status and canceled visas from the State Department.
“The termination notice indicates that all termination is due to a violation of the terms of the individual’s visa program,” Frenck said in a message on campus. “At this time, UCLA is not aware of federal law enforcement activities on campus related to these terminations.”
He later told campus: “We recognize that these actions can bring immigrants and feelings of insecurity and anxiety to our community. We want immigrants and international UCLA students, staff and faculties to support our ability to work, learn, teach and thrive here.”
Also on Sunday, UC Santa Cruz said visas for the three students had ended “without prior notice.”
“The federal government has not detailed the reasons behind these terminations,” a campus notice from Prime Minister Cynthia Larribe said. “We are notifying the three students and contacting them directly to provide support.”
Other UC campuses (Berkeley, Davis, San Diego) and Stanford announced student visa cancellations on Friday and Saturday. In San Diego, California, a student was also detained for deportation at the border, according to a campus message from Prime Minister Pradeep Kosra.
UC officials told the Times that UC Irvine students were also affected by the sweep. No other details are provided. The official spoke anonymously. Because they weren’t allowed to talk to the media. A UC Irvine spokesman did not respond to Sunday’s request for details.
The Trump administration has changed student status in Sevis, a Department of Homeland Security-linked system that schools use to provide information about whether international students are enrolled in classes.
Without a valid registration status or visa, students may be accepting immigration enforcement measures against them. Federal immigration officials are generally detained only when individuals are at public risk or flight risk, but the Trump administration has sometimes taken more aggressive action. The school does not report federal immigration authorities on campus.
An anonymous Orange County College student also filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration in federal court in Los Angeles on Saturday, alleging that his unnamed campus status had been illegally terminated. The lawsuit states that the student’s only legal violation is “a minor speeding ticket and driving conviction in connection with misdemeanor alcohol,” and that the State Department was aware of the alcohol claim before renewing his visa.
The administration’s actions “appear to be designed to force students, including plaintiffs, to abandon their research and to “convey” them,” the lawsuit says. “If ICE believes that a student can be deported by having a revoked visa, it has the authority to commence the removal process and assert it in court. However, it cannot misuse Sevis to avoid the law, strip students of status and drive them out of the country without a process.”
School leaders have not been warned about the changes, so employees are rushing to find out how many students have been affected. Some tallies change multiple times per day. In Berkeley, California, the campus initially said visas for four students had been cancelled. After that, I revised the number twice and landed at 6.
Other campuses are still evaluating international student enrollment.
USC officials declined to state whether student visas have been cancelled on campus, which is home to more than 17,000 international students, the largest concentration on the California campus. Student and faculty leaders said they had never heard of the withdrawal on Sunday.
In UC San Francisco, a spokesman said on Sunday there was no visa action. On Sunday, a UC Merced spokesman refused to state whether the campus was affected, but representatives from UC Santa Barbara and UC Riverside did not reply to inquiries on the same day.
In total, the revocation of visas discovered since Friday has affected at least 45 California students and recent alumni. This includes undergraduate students, alumni and student visa people as part of “optional practical training.” This is a designation adopted after graduation and provides a temporary visa extension that allows students to gain professional experience.
A Homeland Security spokesperson did not respond to a request to provide a total number of California-affected campuses or individuals.
Nationally, similar behavior has been affecting students from Arizona, Colorado, Columbia, Harvard, North Carolina and several other universities since last week.
It is unclear why the Trump administration is revoking its visa. In March, the Homeland Security and the state department detained several foreign students, including Columbia University students, for deportation. These actions were based on allegations that their pro-Palestinian protests were “pro-hama.” This is an extremist group designated by the United States as a terrorist organization and is a threat to US security and foreign policy. Many of these detentions have been challenged in federal courts.
However, many of the recent cancellations do not appear to be related to protesters, according to campus members.
“The termination may be due to recent or past interactions with law enforcement, ranging from arrests to criminal and misdemeanor offences,” said Syed Tamim Ahmad, a junior at UCLA, an international student body for the Student Government. “The student received an email from the Visa Management System, which is very short. It simply notifies you of termination and cites the reason for termination as stated in Sevis. It also mentions seeking an external lawyer.”
Ahmad said he received a reason for termination from the Dashew Center, UCLA’s international student office. Center director Sam Nahidi refused a request for an interview from the Times.
Past criminal cases issues have recently appeared at the University of Minnesota after a Turkish student was arrested in March. The Trump administration said the visa’s actions against students were due to the drunken driving arrest in 2023, when he pleaded guilty. The student said in a court filing that the state-mandated driver programme continued following the alcohol case.
“What’s happening now is fundamentally different from what happened before,” said Ahilan T. Arulanantham, co-director of the faculty at the Center for Immigration Law and Policy at the UCLA School of Law. “The government appears to have revoked visas and arrested and deported students based on interactions that are not as minor as they have no interest in the past, such as those who have a reckless driving ticket and have completed a driver training, for example.
In a written statement to the Times, a State Department spokesman declined to share details regarding California’s cancellations.
The spokesman said the United States has “no tolerance for non-citizens who violate US laws. Those who break the law, including students, could face a visa denial, visa revocation and/or deportation.
At UCLA, students and faculty are rushing to help those who have lost their visa status. “Ice chip sheets” are distributed to guide students on how to potentially deal with immigration and customs enforcement agents. Students are also directed towards the UCLA area hotline and legal assistance from the UC Davis-based UC Immigration Law Services Center.
On Sunday, faculty members of the UCLA Task Force on Anti-Palestinian, Anti-Arab and Anti-Muslim Racism also issued a letter to the campus Prime Minister asking for assistance to international students.
“It is urgent to take steps to protect UCLA international students,” the letter said. Among other requests, the university is asking for “challenge the Department of Homeland Security for failing to follow legitimate procedures,” ensuring enrollment for students whose visas have been cancelled, and providing opportunities for those leaving the United States to complete their research remotely.
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