Five international students at the University of Massachusetts had their visas revoked, university Chancellor Javier Reyes announced on Friday.
Describing the revocations as “troubling,” Reyes explained that the students no longer had a legal right to remain in the United States.
Reyes added that the university was not made aware by federal authorities that the students’ visa status had changed, and the discovery was only made as a result of proactive checks in the Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Student and Exchange Visitor Information System database.
“These actions have been attributed by federal authorities to alleged incidents, in some cases, as minor as off-campus traffic violations,” Reyes claimed.
Noting a change under the current administration, Reyes said that student statuses are being revoked within hours of their visa’s revocation.
Advice for international students
Advising all international students to monitor their emails, Reyes said that “the only way that students are informed of visa revocations is via an email notification to the address they originally used to apply for their F-1 or other non-immigrant visa.”
Students on UMass-sponsored visas were also advised that, should they receive any communications (phone calls or emails) purporting to be from the federal government, they should contact the university’s Office of Global Affairs.
The university has also set up an Angel Fund in support of students suffering as a result of the changing immigration laws.
“I want to stress how important our international community is to the vitality of our campus and assure every international student and scholar at UMass of our unwavering support as we confront this new reality,” Reyes wrote. “Attracting students from every corner of the globe, higher education in the United States has always been the envy of the world. Like so many others, I came to the United States to study through the student visa program. We came to better ourselves, better our communities, and better the country that welcomed us as scholars.”
The visa revocations came amid a wider crackdown by the Trump administration on international students. Multiple students, and former students, accused of supporting Hamas on campus were deported or asked to self-deport, starting with former Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil.