California Students, Blindsided by Visa Cancellations, Sue Trump Administration

Two international students at California colleges are suing the federal government after they were among dozens in the state whose student visas were revoked and whose records in a key federal database were terminated, effectively stripping them of the ability to continue studying in the United States.

The plaintiffs in both cases have been in the U.S. on student visas for more than five years, according to court filings. One is a student at a college in Orange County, the other at a college in the Inland Empire. Both were listed in the lawsuits as “Student Doe” to protect their identities. A lawyer representing the students would not divulge where they were enrolled, citing the risk that they could be located and deported by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The lawsuits come as the Trump administration has revoked the visas of hundreds of international students (as well as recent graduates engaged in a program that allows them to get professional training), in many cases citing their involvement in pro-Palestinian activism that administration officials have labeled pro-Hamas or antisemitic.

At least 96 student visa holders in California have been affected in recent days: six at Stanford; 32 in the California State University system and at least 58 across multiple University of California campuses, including UC Davis, UC Berkeley, UCLA, UC San Diego, UC Irvine, UC Riverside and UC Santa Cruz, according to university officials.

“These actions create an uncertain and challenging environment for our campus community,” UC Berkeley Chancellor Richard Lyons said in a statement Monday. “Your university supports, without reservation, the right and ability of immigrant and international students, staff, and faculty to participate fully in the campus experience.”

Khaled Alrabe, a Berkeley-based attorney with the National Immigration Project, is representing the two Southern California students suing the federal government.

He said universities and students themselves have been blindsided by a “mass and abrupt cancellation of student statuses” that gained steam last week. The NLG estimates the number of revoked visas could exceed 1,000 nationally.

“It’s all across the country, not just in California. It’s just been nonstop,” Alrabe said. “We believe that these cancellations are unlawful, and we’re still trying to figure out a pattern. But people should be very concerned because it seems to be extremely broad and affecting all types of students.”

There were more than 1.1 million international students in the U.S. last year, including 140,858 in California, according to federal data compiled by the Institute of International Education.

Alrabe said many, but not all, students targeted were from Arab or Asian countries. Students who had been involved in political activism or had minor criminal offenses seemed to be a focus, he added.

Each of the two California students who sued had a misdemeanor conviction — one for reckless driving, the other for driving under the influence of alcohol. But that’s not enough to justify terminating their student status, according to Alrabe. Rather, the threshold under immigration law is a conviction for “a crime of violence” with a potential sentence of more than a year.

Neither student has a history of activism, Alrabe said, but both are from predominantly Muslim countries. In each case, the government cited a seldom-used provision of immigration law that says a non-citizen is deportable if their “presence or activities in the United States the Secretary of State has reasonable ground to believe would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences.”

‘We believe these terminations are unlawful’

The two lawsuits challenge ICE for terminating their records in the agency’s Student and Exchange Visitor Information Systems (SEVIS) database rather than taking on the State Department for canceling their F-1 student visas. The SEVIS termination effectively ends their legal basis for remaining in the country and puts them at risk of deportation.

The students argue that ICE lacks legal grounds for terminating them because they met all the requirements for student status.

“We believe these terminations are unlawful,” Alrabe said. “The fact that the students have maintained lawful status, have been in compliance with all the requirements of their student status, and yet still are being punished, is very concerning.”

ICE did not respond to KQED’s request for comment by press time. In a statement Monday, the U.S. State Department said it has “zero tolerance for non-citizens who violate U.S. laws.”

“Those who break the law, including students, may face visa refusal, visa revocation, and/or deportation,” the statement read in part. “The Department revokes visas every day in order to secure America’s borders and keep our communities safe — and will continue to do so.”

Activists targeted nationwide

Last month, several students critical of Israel’s bombardment of Gaza were arrested by ICE, including Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil, a lawful permanent resident, and Tufts University international student Rumeysa Ozturk. Both are being held in an immigration detention in Louisiana.

In those cases, Secretary of State Marco Rubio cited foreign policy grounds as a reason to revoke Ozturk’s visa and even Khalil’s green card (a move that would require an immigration judge’s approval).

“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,” Rubio said at a March 27 news conference. “Every time I find one of these lunatics, I take away their visa.”

Now, the visa revocations in California have put students here in a “tailspin,” said Zahra Billoo, executive director of the Bay Area chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

“We have been receiving inquiries from other visa holders, as well as, by the way, from U.S. citizens who are asking, could they be next?” she said. “This administration has been very troubling in its open and flagrant disregard of due process.”

Billoo is counseling concerned students to seek legal advice and not allow law enforcement into their homes without a judicial warrant. She added that CAIR believes students with immigration concerns may be safer if they remain in the public eye rather than trying to stay below the radar.

Higher education under pressure

So far, none of the California universities have indicated that students have been arrested by ICE or deported, except for one UC San Diego student who university officials said was “detained at the border, denied entry and deported to their home country.”

None of the university officials contacted by KQED was willing to be interviewed about the visa revocations. And their statements ranged from terse to more expansive.

The University of California Office of the President issued a one-paragraph statement that read in part: “We are committed to doing what we can to support all members of our community as they exercise their rights under the law. In doing that, the University will continue to follow all applicable state and federal laws.”

At UC Davis, where seven students and five recent graduates had their F-1 visas terminated, Chancellor Gary May released a statement Saturday saying he recognized the distress students might be feeling and adding that the university was providing resources for those who have been affected.

“We reiterate our strong support for our international students and want all of our students, staff and faculty to know we support your ability to work, learn, teach and thrive here,” May said. “We are committed to upholding the law, and we expect local, state and federal agencies to do the same. At the same time, we will continue to advocate at every level of government for the rights and safety of all our community members.”

May said the federal government has not explained the reasons behind the terminations. He added that federal agents had not entered the campus or taken any member of the community into custody.

Stanford University officials emphasized that they keep student and personnel records private and will not share information with immigration agencies unless legally compelled to do so.

A statement on the Stanford website added: “Consistent with the approach of law enforcement agencies in Santa Clara County, [campus public safety] does not inquire about immigration status in the normal course of its duties and will not participate with other agencies in immigration enforcement activities unless legally required to do so.”

The visa terminations come at a time when scores of U.S. universities are facing pressure as the Trump administration threatens to withhold billions of dollars in research funding and has launched investigations into campus diversity initiatives and alleged tolerance of antisemitism. Late last month, Pomona College said it’s cooperating with a congressional committee’s request for information related to campus protests but would protect the privacy of student information.

“This should be viewed in the context of the larger environment we’re in, where there is targeting of not just students for ideological reasons, but also universities,” Alrabe said. “This is a broader issue. And this is just the beginning of a pattern that is quite concerning.”