Trump Administration’s BIG blow to international students: Over 1,000 hit by visa revocations, lawsuits filed

More than 1,000 international students across the US have had their visas or legal status revoked in recent weeks, sparking legal battles and raising fears of mass deportations. According to an Associated Press review of court records and university statements, at least 1,024 students from 160 colleges and universities have been affected since late March.

Students have filed lawsuits against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), alleging they were denied due process and had their permission to remain in the US abruptly revoked. Institutions affected include elite private universities like Harvard and Stanford, large public schools such as the University of Maryland and Ohio State University, and smaller liberal arts colleges.

Reasons for visa terminations unclear

While student visas can be cancelled for various reasons, colleges say the recent terminations appear arbitrary. In some cases, minor infractions like old traffic violations triggered the cancellations. Some students say they were never informed of the specific reason they were targeted.

“The timing and uniformity of these terminations leave little question that DHS has adopted a nationwide policy, whether written or not, of mass termination of student (legal) status,” said ACLU of Michigan attorneys representing students at Wayne State University and the University of Michigan.

Challenges across states

In a high-profile case, Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil was detained amid accusations of involvement in pro-Palestinian activism. However, most colleges assert that students impacted by the recent wave of visa terminations have no links to political protests.

“Greater scrutiny on all immigrants”

Experts say the move is part of a broader trend under the Trump administration to increase pressure on all immigrant categories.

“What you're seeing happening with international students is really a piece of the much greater scrutiny that the Trump administration is bringing to bear on immigrants of all different categories,” said Michelle Mittelstadt, director of public affairs at the Migration Policy Institute.

How the student visa system works

International students typically enter the US on an F-1 visa after securing admission and undergoing interviews at a US consulate or embassy. They must prove they can financially support their education and maintain good academic standing.

While the State Department issues entry visas, once students are in the US, their legal status is managed by the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) under DHS.

Recently, college officials say they have discovered terminations only after checking Homeland Security’s online database, rather than through standard notification channels.

From classrooms to deportation threats

Previously, losing an entry visa didn’t impact a student’s legal residency in the US—they simply couldn’t leave and re-enter. Now, however, termination of legal status means students face the risk of arrest by immigration authorities. Some have already fled the country to avoid potential detention.

“The very public actions that are being taken by ICE and the Department of Homeland Security around some of these students, where they are removing these students from their homes or from their streets, that's not usually done unless there is a security issue when a student visa is revoked,” said Sarah Spreitzer, vice president of government relations at the American Council on Education. “The threat of this very quick removal is something that's new.”

Colleges push back, try to calm fears

College administrators are demanding clarity and offering support to affected students. They are urging students to carry their documents and avoid international travel.

“These are unprecedented times, and our normal guiding principles for living in a democratic society are being challenged,” wrote University of Massachusetts Boston Chancellor Marcelo Suárez-Orozco in a campus-wide message. He said the legal status of two students and five others in training programmes had been cancelled.

Universities across the country are echoing his concern—uncertain about federal enforcement patterns, yet trying to reassure anxious students.

(With AP inputs)