About 1,024 international students at US colleges and universities have had their visas revoked or have had their legal status terminated since late March, according to school officials, university statements and correspondence, as reported by The Associated Press.
Foreign students living in the US constantly see agents in plain clothes out of the blue and taking students to detention centres, on social media and that is causing a lot of anxiety for them.
Several students have sued the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) arguing that the DHS has failed to justify why they are terminating their legal status.
Moreover, the Trump administration has said frequently that visas are a “privilege” and can be revoked any time for a lot of reasons. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said, “Here’s why: I’ve said it everywhere, and I’ll say it again. If you apply for a student visa to come to the United States and you say you’re coming not just to study, but to participate in movements that vandalise universities, harass students, take over buildings, and cause chaos, we’re not giving you that visa.”
BBC spoke to students and faculty from public universities and Ivy League institutions and they claim that the situation has left them feeling on the edge.
“I could be next,” said a student visa-holder who has written articles about the war in Gaza. He carries a card with him which has a list of constitutional rights just in case he is stopped by law enforcement.
While another said he is too scared to go out, even to buy groceries.
The reasons to have visas revoked could range from a lot of factors from criminal records to driving over the speed limit, however, “a lot” of the people who have been targeted had been involved in pro-Palestinian protests, even Secretary of State Marco Rubio himself said so.
Officials say such protestors created an unsafe environment for the Jewish students, and supported a terrorist organisation – Hamas.
“Every time I find one of these lunatics, I take away their visas. We do it every day”, Rubio told reporters in late March.
Not just students, but universities are also being targeted. The White House froze $2 billion in funding for Harvard University after it refused to agree to a list of demands that would take away its “independence”.
A Georgetown student has asked his parents not to fly from India to the US to watch him graduate with a master’s degree and is unsure if he will attend the ceremony himself. He is also taking precautions otherwise. “I have cleared my chats across messaging apps, and I have learned how to quickly lock my phone in SOS mode,” he said.
Tufts PhD student Anteri Mejr told the BBC that some international “students are working remotely because they’re afraid they can’t get back in the country”, while a few have left the country and are afraid to return.
A University of Texas student said, “I’m scared to be out. I’m scared to come to school. I’m scared to go grocery shopping”. Despite not being a part of the pro-Palestine protests, he is filled with “crippling anxiety” as he has written critical things about the president.
“How far does this administration dig through, like, an immigrant’s history?” he asked. “What if I did say something and I’m not aware”, he said.
