On April 7, in the midst of information according to which the federal government held international students and revoked their visas, ED inside began to collect and cross -check the data in order to follow exactly the number of affected students and in the establishments. Our objective was to understand the scope of the federal government’s participation in the visa process and what it means for international students and the colleges and universities to which they frequent.
Over the past two weeks, more than 1,500 students – representing several hundred colleges and universities, as well as public systems – have had a sudden or unexpected change in their inscription for students and exchanges of information on visitors (SEVIS), or their status as F -1 or J -1 visa.
The data that we have collected allow an snapshot in the way in which the State Department and the Ministry of Internal Security act on the campaign promise of President Trump to withdraw international students who engage in political activism or disrupt campus operations. But that also reveals some details on the students themselves.
Here is what we know so far.
- Our data set increases, but still lacks.
When the card was launched on April 7, we identified 147 students, but this number quickly exceeded the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, quoted in a statement on March 27, claiming that he had revoked 300 student visas. Various legal groups have suggested that the total is in several thousand, we therefore expect our database continuing to grow.
From our own reports – and the council dam that we have received in our reception boxes and on social networks – we know that there are many other colleges and universities that have not disclosed information on the status of their international students. Most of them are small private liberal arts colleges with large international student populations.
Why a college would choose not to disclose the data is not entirely clear. Some say they protect students’ identities; Many are probably concerned about the impact on future international registrations for students, which generate substantial income for many institutions across the country.
Currently, the database is mainly made up of regional colleges and universities or public headlights. About 28% of nearly 250 colleges are private. In addition, populations of international students in establishments vary and the number of affected students do not always align.
The University of Michigan, for example, has more than 8,000 foreign students, but has only reported 22 revocations. Meanwhile, Pima Community College in Arizona has less than 200 and reported a revocation. But there is then the Northwest Missouri State University, which had 716 international students in October 2024 and reported 43 revocations.
While we miss the individual data of students as a whole, approximately a quarter of the 530 students analyzed so far have been identified as old, 8% as graduate students and 2% as undergraduate students.
- We don’t know much about the students themselves.
Student data is protected by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, or Ferpa, so that all the data we have collected comes from one of the few sources: the student himself, someone at the college or at university with access to Sevis, or to a legal file or a lawyer representing the student in a lawsuit. No public database exists which provides international data on student visas.
Some sources have revealed more than the number of students affected; Sometimes they share if a student is currently registered or participates in an optional practical training – a program that allows F -1 visa holders to acquire work experience linked to their field of study – or opt for STEM. The sources rarely reveal the nation of the student.
Of the 515 students whose data we have examined for nationality we have examined, 450 do not have their available nationality. Of the 65 that we have identified, 19 are from China, 15 come from India, five are from Kuwait, four are from Saudi Arabia, three are from Japan and two are from Türkiye. The others are a range of other nationalities.
A warning: the higher number of Indian and Chinese students probably reflects their position as two main countries of origin for foreign students registered in American establishments. During the academic year of 2023-2024, 331,602 Indian students and 277,398 Chinese students registered in post-secondary education in the United States in comparison, Canada sends around 28,000 students across the border each academic year.
- It is clearly not only anti -Semitism.
Initially, the State Department declared that it was targeting students who were looking for entry into the United States “not only to study but to participate in movements that vandalize universities, harass students, take control of buildings and cause chaos”.
Some of the students affected by visa revocations were eminent social activists, notably Mahmoud Khalil and Mohsen Mahdawi from Columbia University, who participated in pro-Palestinian demonstrations and a camp in the spring of 2024.
Columbia is one of the colleges on our list – as well as the Emerson College, George Washington University, New York University, Northwestern University, The New School, Tofts University, University of Michigan, University of Minnesota, the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, the University of North Carolina in Charlotte, Washington Campe of Saint -Louis and the University of California, Berkey, Berkat – The Campuss and University of Californi Campements last spring.
Other campuses, however, have seen little or no political commitment during the War of Israel-Hamas. The Webster University in St. Louis, for example, had no alleged anti -Semitism copies, but 18 students have revoked their visas.
College officials claim that several of the affected students were not involved in campus demonstrations or considered as student activists.
- The authorities often cite criminal activity as a justification for the revocation of student visas.
International students can lose their legal position in the United States for omitting the terms of their F-1 visa, in particular by being registered as a full-time student, without working outside campuses during their first year, having enough money to support each other and maintain a residence abroad.
But a student’s visa can also be dismissed for more serious reasons, such as criminal activity, national security problems, false declarations or fraud.
Some colleges and universities said their students had been dismissed by visas for past or minor crimes, including traffic offenses, alcohol consumption and intrusions. Many of these cases have been rejected.
An increasing number of students continue the State Department and the Ministry of Homeland Security for revoking their visas. According to a trial, the reason invoked for the revocations of students’ visas was listed as “another – individual identified in the verification of judicial lockers and / or has revoked their visa. The Sevis file has been terminated. ”
- The courts will probably have the last word on the revocations.
So far, ED inside identified 28 prosecution representing 178 students who ask the federal courts to restore their status in Sevis and / or their visas. Several students have obtained temporary ban prescriptions which allow them to stay in the country while the dispute continues, and at least one student has made their visa reintegrate.
The federal government has argued in judicial files that prosecution should be rejected because the termination of the SEVIS of a student does not mean that their visa is revoked or constitute a final action. SEVIS, wrote a government lawyer, is simply a database and does not control or does not necessarily reflect if a student has a status of legal non-immigrant. “”
But some students do not wait for the courts to weigh. At least five have left the country voluntarily, according to reports. And others have never had the chance to take action before the federal government took measures. Less than 10 students were arrested, detained or expelled.
We add to our student level database and continue to update the card, so come back here for daily updates. While we learn more about the people concerned, we will also share this data.
