The State Department Has Revoked The Visas Of Over 600 Students At 100+ Schools

Some students were forced to leave the country after being sent a text message saying that their visas were cancelled.

By Zane McNeill, TruthOut

More than 100 colleges and universities across the country have reported cases of student visas being revoked by the U.S. State Department, with the department changing the legal status of over 600 international students and recent graduates, according to Inside Higher Ed.

“No president should be allowed to set an ideological litmus test and exclude or remove people from our country who they disagree with,” the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said in a statement.

Several universities have reported that some international students were forced to abruptly leave the United States after discovering — sometimes through a federal database, or via unexpected text messages or emails — that their visas had been canceled. Attorneys representing the affected students say that many lost their visas without any prior notice, explanation, or chance to respond. In many cases, university administrators were also left in the dark, receiving no formal explanation from federal immigration agencies.

Legal advocates say the Trump administration has increasingly revoked visas based on pro-Palestianian sentiment. While legal scholars affirm that international students are entitled to First Amendment protections, their temporary immigration status makes them especially vulnerable to punitive measures related to political speech.

“By surveilling visa and green card holders and targeting them based on nothing more than their protected expression, the administration trades America’s commitment to free and open discourse for fear and silence. Unfortunately, that chill appears to be the administration’s aim,” the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) wrote on X.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed last month that over 300 visas had been rescinded, claiming that those targeted were engaged in actions that “run counter” to national interests — like co-authoring an op-ed expressing opposition to Israel’s genocide in Gaza, or participating in student encampments for divestment from Israel.

“Every time I find one of these lunatics, I take away their visa,” he remarked at a press briefing, referring to pro-Palestinian student activists. Rubio has defended the revocations by asserting that student visas are strictly for educational purposes, and warned that noncitizens participating in activities deemed “destabilizing” could lose their right to stay in the U.S.

Federal officials have encouraged students to voluntarily exit the country rather than contest deportation in immigration court — a process that carries the risk of detention. In March, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem threatened that if immigrants do not self-deport, “we will find them, we will deport them, and they will never return.” The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has also indicated that it may impose a daily fine of $998 on immigrants who remain in the U.S. after receiving a “final order of removal” — a penalty that can be especially burdensome for students.

In light of the escalating uncertainty, the American Council on Education (ACE) and 15 other academic associations have requested an urgent meeting with the Departments of State and Homeland Security. “Recent actions have contributed to uncertainty and impedes the ability of our institutions to best advise international students and scholars,” wrote ACE President Ted Mitchell in a letter to the agencies. “It is important institutions are in a position to reassure international students so they can continue to make exceptional contributions to their campuses, communities, and the nation.”

Just this week, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced a new policy to monitor immigrants’ social media accounts for supposed “antisemitic” content. “[A]nyone who thinks they can come to America and hide behind the First Amendment to advocate for anti-Semitic violence and terrorism — think again. You are not welcome here,” DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.

Critics argue that this policy will be used to penalize speech critical of Israel’s U.S.-backed genocide in Gaza. “The spirit of Joseph McCarthy is alive and well in the Trump administration, which has spent months dishonestly mischaracterizing legitimate criticism of the Israeli government’s war crimes in Gaza as antisemitic, pursuing witch hunts into American colleges, and threatening the free speech rights of immigrants,” Council on American-Islamic Relations National deputy director Edward Ahmed Mitchell said in a statement.