The federal government revoked the visas of some international University of Illinois students, Robin Kaler, associate chancellor for strategic communications and marketing, confirmed on Wednesday over email.
Kaler did not share specific details with The Daily Illini but said the administration is working with students impacted by these revocations.
“Students at many institutions of higher education—including the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign—are being affected,” Kaler said. “Out of student privacy concerns, we are not sharing specific information, but we are working directly with affected students to help them connect with appropriate resources and understand their options.”
The New York Times reported that nearly 300 international students have recently been “abruptly stripped of their ability to stay in the United States,” including at Ivy League institutions, as well as at public schools like the University of Texas and the University of California.
President Donald Trump made a vow earlier this year to deport “resident aliens” who joined in on “pro-Jihadist protests.”
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The administration has targeted Columbia University, threatening to pull $400 million in funding over the school’s handling of a pro-Palestine encampment last spring. The encampment was part of a nationwide campaign, including at the University, calling for academic institutions to divest from Israel.
“We put you on notice: come 2025, we will find you, and we will deport you,” Trump said. “I will also quickly cancel the student visas of all Hamas sympathizers on college campuses, which have been infested with radicalism like never before.”
Last month, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Fox News that the administration is deporting student visa holders every day.
“What we have seen on campuses across the country where students literally cannot go to school, you cannot – buildings are being taken over, activities going on – this is clearly an organized movement,” Rubio said. “And if you are in this country on a student visa and are a participant in those movements, we have a right to deny your visa. I think it would make sense to deny your visa.”
Rubio said the decision to deport visa holders is erring “on the side of caution.” He also said that America is not going to “import activists” into the country.
