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The Trump administration has cancelled more than 12 international student visas on California campuses, including UCLA, UC San Diego and Stanford.
At UCLA, the withdrawal struck at least eight international students, according to faculty groups and students. It is unclear whether the students were detained by immigration authorities and why their visas were cancelled. A UCLA spokesperson did not immediately review or reply to requests for comment.
In San Diego, California, Prime Minister Pradeep Kosra said in a message on campus late Friday that five students had revoked their visas. He said the university received the notification “without warning.” Khosla said the sixth student was “detained at the border, refused entry and was repatriated to his home country.”
“The federal government has not explained the reasons behind these endings,” Khosla writes. “Students have been notified and we work with them in person to provide support.”
In Stanford, authorities said four students and two recent graduates had revoked their visas. The university’s statement did not specify why the student lost his visa or whether he was faced with an arrest.
A statement from the University of California implies that students on other campuses have also revoked their visas, but did not provide details.
The statement said UC “are aware that several international students on our campus have been affected by the recent termination of Sevis,” referring to the U.S. Government Student and Exchange Visitor Information Systems database. “This is a fluid situation and we continue to monitor and assess the impact on the UC community and those affected, and we are committed to doing what we can to support all members of our community in exercising our rights under the law.
A spokesman for the UC Presidential Office, a central management project that handles all campus and federal relations, did not immediately respond to requests for details.
The action was part of a mass visa cancellation that appears to have been rolled out on campuses nationwide on Friday, shocking school administrators. Other campuses that announce visa revocations include the University of Kentucky, the University of Oregon and Ohio State University. The Trump administration’s actions to cancel student visas and arrest students targeted pro-Palestinian activists last month, but the reasons for these changes were unclear.
UCLA’s student government leader acknowledged campus’ concerns over the immigration situation in a joint statement issued late Friday.
“I understand that these are times of very uncertainty… For all international students reading this: you belong here. Your presence at UCLA makes this campus stronger, richer and more beautiful. President Adam Tofairi of the Council and Representative of International Students Sayed Tamim Ahmad.
A representative for Palestine Judicial Judicial in San Diego, California, said the organization is trying to get more information about the affected people to determine whether they are student protesters.
Last month, the Trump administration began revoking student visas on well-known campuses, including Columbia, Cornell, George Washington, Tufts and other universities.
The administration accused students of supporting Hamas, which the US designates as a terrorist organization, and said they are a threat to national security and US foreign policy. Students argue that their right to free speech to support Palestinians is being trampled under.
Some of them have led to immigrant arrests, but are being fought in federal court. Several students are being detained in immigration detention facilities.
The administration also began canceling visas for students who were not involved in the pro-Palestinian protests but who had other violations on records. For example, immigration and customs officials said this week that the visa for a University of Minnesota student was revoked in March due to a 2023 drunken driving incident in which he pleaded guilty.
On March 27, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on a visit to the Guyana Department that the US had revoked 300 visas at that time and would continue its evaluation.
“We do that every day. Every time we find one of these crazy people, I remove their visa,” Rubio said, referring to the student protesters. “We’ve removed all of them, so we hope we run out at some point, but we’re looking for these crazy guys every day who’s ripping things apart.”
Rubio said the government has cancelled “mainly student visas” and “visitor visas.” The group included cases that were “unrelated to protests” related to “potential criminal activity.”
On many US campuses, including UC San Diego and Stanford, the Trump administration did not inform universities of visa changes. Instead, cancellations were discovered while university officials were checking Sevis, the Department of Homeland Security student database that lists international student status.
International students are usually certified to two different accreditations and can come to the US and study. A student visa grants an individual permission to enter the United States, but “student status” ensures that the person is enrolled in the class and stays at other restrictions, such as employment restrictions. Visas are granted and revoked by the State Department. Student status is maintained in Sevis.
Under previous administrations, students who canceled their intrusion visas were usually allowed to stay in the United States to study legally. If they leave the US and come back, they will have to renew their visa. The current actions by the Trump administration appear to be changing both visas and student status.
Schools with large international populations usually have campus centres dedicated to supporting students and professors in visas, housing and other areas, including maintaining Sevis.
The Times contacted USC, Stanford and other schools with a history of large pro-Palestinian protests inquiring about large international populations and all UC campuses of other schools, Stanford or student visa issues. Officials did not respond to requests and either refused to tell the university spokesman about the era or directed the era.
“At this point, we are continuing to evaluate the ongoing development,” said a response on Wednesday from UC David spokesman Bill Kisliuk.
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