KEY POINTS
- The Trump administration leads an aggressive policy which revokes visas that affects international students.
- Studnets face detention while receiving no information regarding their visa termination.
- The US State Department revealed complete powers for visa cancellation alongside deportation of people within its legal framework.
International students are compelled to depart the United States under the Trump administration which increased its aggressive practices toward student visa cancellations.
The Homeland Security Department notified its recipients by email that staying in the country would result in findings by the federal government.
The federal government has officially informed students that they will locate anyone who stays beyond permitted time according to immigration lawyer Nicole Micheroni.
Many students received their arrests without warning while their visa cancellation explanations remained unclear. Student visa terminations happened even without any conviction or arrest or when the student simply received tickets during encounters according to immigration attorney Baxter.
Lack of communication with schools as US revokes student visas
Foreign students received news about visa termination through university notifications instead of notifications from ICE. Universities across the board failed to receive documented notices reflecting their students’ visa revocation decisions. Government records showed student names which caused schools to learn about the visa revocations for the first time.
A SEVIS database evaluation revealed Stanford University discovered four student and two alumni had their visa rights revoked through their April 4 official statement. Under the previous process visa cancellations needed school officials with designated authority to perform the action. However now ICE has taken over this responsibility.
ICE has taken over the direct responsibility to revoke visa statuses
Jeff Joseph who is president-elect at the American Immigration Lawyers Association stated that before Trump became president the SEVIS revocation authority lay with designated school officials. Currently we observe ICE agents taking on the responsibility of visa revocation themselves.
An extreme situation involved Tufts University doctoral student Rümeysa Öztürk when ICE agents detained her by handcuffs after they deprived her of her visa without warning. Court documentation shows Öztürk screaming in combination with confusion and fear during the incident.
Marco Rubio who serves as Secretary of State confirmed the visa revocation program focuses on foreign students whose continued presence in the United States creates serious foreign policy complications.
The State Department declared US revokes student visas as it holds unrestricted power to cancel visas at any moment and maintains surveillance over visa holders after their issuance.
