It was summer break for a Ph.D. student at the University of California, San Diego, and they were planning a trip to Hawaii with some friends. But the student changed his mind after seeing how international students all over the US were being taken away from their legal standing.
Going anywhere, even inside the U.S., didn’t seem worth the risk.
“I think I’ll skip that so that I have as few interactions with governments as possible,” the student, who did not want to be named for fear of being targeted, said.
The crackdown by the Trump administration has made international students feel even more vulnerable. They are now thinking twice about travelling to see family, take a holiday, or do research.
Before students suddenly lost their permission to study in the U.S., some colleges told foreign students and faculty to delay travel because the government was trying to deport students who were active in pro-Palestinian activism. The number of status terminations has grown over the past few weeks, and more schools have warned foreign students not to travel abroad for reasons that aren’t necessary.
Last week, the University of California, Berkeley, said that upcoming foreign travel was dangerous because of “strict vetting and enforcement.”
As of late March, at least 1,220 students at 187 colleges, universities, and university systems had their visas revoked or their legal status ended. This was found by looking at university statements, court records, and communication with school officials.
But it looks like a lot more kids are affected. According to a response from Immigration and Customs Enforcement to questions from Congress on April 10, at least 4,736 foreign students’ visa records were deleted from a government database that keeps track of their legal status.
Some students went into hiding, while others left the country on their own when they realised they might have to leave the country soon. A lot of the students said that the only complaints on their records were small ones or that they didn’t know why their records were taken away.
After federal judges raised concerns about due process in the cases of several students, the U.S. government overturned the terminations but then released new guidelines that list more reasons why foreign students may lose their legal status in the future.
Under the new policy, losing the visas that students used to come to the U.S. is an acceptable reason to end their status. In the past, even if a student’s visa was taken away, they could still stay in the U.S. and finish school. If they left the country, they would not be able to come back.
Because things are changing so quickly, schools are having a hard time giving advice to students.
A college worker in Michigan who helps foreign students get visas said that they are getting more and more questions about summer travel. The employee, who asked to remain anonymous because he wasn’t allowed to talk to the media, said that he often doesn’t have enough answers.
About 1.1 million foreign students came to the U.S. last year. For many schools, this was a key source of tuition income. Supporters say that number will likely go down because the crackdown makes America less appealing.
In the past few weeks, people of all immigration statuses, including international students, have called Rishi Oza’s immigration law company in North Carolina almost every day to talk about travel risks.
“Then you shake your head and ask, ‘Is this the kind of country we want?'” Oza said. There is something strange about the fact that people are afraid to leave and don’t know if they can come back.
Oza said that students in the U.S. with a visa need to think about how important their trips are.
People who have left the country and want to come back should bring immigration papers, school records, and even court papers if they were charged with a crime and the case was thrown out. He said that lawyers can’t know for sure what will happen at the airport.
One foreign student at the University of Illinois is upset about how unpredictable things are. The student asked to remain anonymous so as not to be targeted. He has been staying out of sight since one of his friends left the country after losing their legal status.
The student is scared about his plans to go to his home country in Asia this summer, but he has nowhere else to stay. He bought his plane ticket and plans to go on the trip. He is still worried about what might happen when he comes back, though.
He said, “Right now I’m afraid I might not be able to come back.” _
Christopher L. Keller is a writer for the Associated Press who worked from Albuquerque, New Mexico.