State Department Warns Hundreds of Foreign Students by Email That They Are No Longer Legal

Hundreds of emails are being sent to foreign students from the State Department notifying them that their visas have been revoked and they may be removed from the country at any minute. The notice for revocation does not give a reason other than that “additional information became available” after they were granted visitor status.“On behalf of the United States Department of State, the Bureau of Consular Affairs Visa Office hereby informs you that additional information became available after your visa was issued. As a result, your F1 visa with expiration date XXXXXX was revoked in accordance with Section 221(i) of the United States Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended,” reads the email, a copy of which was obtained by the Times of India.The emails encourage students to self-deport upon receiving notice, and informs them that immigration officials will be notifying their schools. “Please note that deportation can take place at a time that does not allow the person being deported to secure possessions or conclude affairs in the United States. Persons being deported may be sent to countries other than their country’s origin,” the email reads.More than 1.1 million international students are studying in America, a fraction of whom are being targeted for removal due to their participation in anti-Israel protests on campuses across the nation. However, as the State Department casts a wider net, it is also looking for anti-American commentary, including on social media posts written either before or after the visas were approved.The State Department said last week that disqualification for a visa is not limited to the initial vetting process, and can be discovered at any time. To qualify for a visa, students must be registered to attend a university certified by the Student and Exchange Visitor Program, a database established by the Department of Homeland Security after September 11, 2001. The program vets students to ensure that “government agencies have essential data related to nonimmigrant students and exchange visitors to preserve national security.” Officials from several universities that are part of the program have complained that immigration officials are changing students’ visa status without informing the schools or the students. Previously, they say, such changes were usually done at the discretion of the university rather than by federal authorities.Thousands of students have participated in pro-Hamas protests on campuses across the country since October 7, 2023, when the war at Gaza began. While the protests are protected under First Amendment rights, the distinction between whether foreign students are afforded the same constitutional rights as citizens has been the subject of heightened debate since the arrest of a former Columbia University graduate student, Mahmoud Khalil, who led raucous demonstrations in support of Hamas. A court has ordered Mr. Khalil to remain in the country as it considers whether he can be removed. Several other students have retained legal counsel since being picked up by immigration officials. Supporters say they are being denied due process, and that students are being targeted because they are Muslim. All of the students picked up for deportation, including students from India, Gambia, and South Korea, participated in pro-Hamas demonstrations on campuses.About 100 graduate students at Minneapolis walked out of a local student union conference over the weekend to protest the removal of an international graduate student at the University of Minnesota, who was detained Thursday by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials.A university official said in an email to staff and students that it had no prior notice of the detention, though it had been informed in February that the Trump administration was investigating the school and other colleges for permitting antisemitic harassment and attacks on their Jewish students. During a trip abroad last week, Secretary of State Rubio said that 300 students have already received notification that their student visa is no longer valid and they will be removed from America. He added that he would be happy to remove more students if it turns out that they also are violating their visa conditions.“We gave you a visa to come and study and get a degree, not to become a social activist that tears up our university campuses. And if we’ve given you a visa, then you decide to do it, we’re going to take it away,” Mr. Rubio said. Asked on what basis the students can be detained, State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce told reporters Friday that the State Department will “revoke the visas of whoever it is that fits within the category of what it is where we’re deciding is going to get your visa revoked, which is illegal activity essentially.” On Sunday, CBS released a poll showing a 58-42 favorability toward Mr. Trump’s deportation policies.

State Department Warns Hundreds of Foreign Students by Email That They Are No Longer Legal

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