Universities divided in response to student visa crackdowns

In the wake of immigration enforcement showing up on college campuses, and in some cases detaining students and revoking student visas, universities are responding. But the reaction has been strikingly different from school to school across the U.S.Last week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio clarified the Trump administration’s “right” to rescind student visas and deport international students who are critical of Israel’s U.S.-backed takeover of Palestine. At a press conference he said that at least 300 student visas have already been revoked. The statements, along with the ongoing uptick in immigration raids, further stoked fear in international students. Declarations of support Amid the worries, some universities are standing firmly by their international students. Tufts University made a bold show of support for Rumeysa Ozturk, the international graduate student who was taken into custody by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on March 25. Ozturk was cornered by agents while off-campus after she, along with three other students, wrote an op-ed urging divestment “from companies with direct or indirect ties to Israel.” Ozturk was accused of supporting Hamas, while the article made no mention of the group.On April 2, Tufts University President Sunil Kumar issued a declaration in support of a motion filed by Ozturk’s legal team. The statement made clear that Tufts supports Ozturk and believes there are absolutely no legal grounds for her detainment. “The University has no information to support the allegations that she was engaged in activities at Tufts that warrant her arrest and detention.” The statement called for the student’s immediate release so that she can continue her education at the university. Updated guidance for the international school community Other schools are responding to the possibility of deportations and detainments, too, simply by updating guidance on school platforms or sending school-wide emails. In February, Johns Hopkins University (JHU) in Baltimore sent a memo to its student body, advising bystanders not to intervene with immigration agents. “Obstructing or otherwise interfering with certain government activity can be a crime,” the memo states. “Do not attempt to notify any person who may be subject to federal immigration enforcement that federal law enforcement officers are present, or engage in any behavior in an effort to enable them to leave the premises or hide.”A representative from JHU told Fast Company in an emailed statement that the university shares the “concerns arising from recent detentions of international students and scholars across the country” and pointed to the importance of “due-process.” The statement continued, explaining that the school “does not provide information about the immigration status of members of our community unless required by law, and Johns Hopkins safety, security, and police officers do not request information regarding citizenship,” but said if immigration agents presented a warrant or court order, the university would comply. The representative pointed to JHU’s personalized immigration-related service and support for international students through its Office of International Services.The representative did not respond to a question about whether the university would consider issuing a declaration of support, similar to Tufts’, if a student were to be taken into custody by DHS.Temple University in Philadelphia released a statement regarding immigration enforcement’s recent arrests and detainment of students on other campuses, too. In it, President John Fry wrote, “Please know that if a similar situation were to arise here at Temple University, we are committed to doing all we lawfully can to assist our students in these circumstances.” When pressed, as to whether the school would offer legal statements of support to students if detained, a representative deferred Fast Company to another representative who, ultimately, did not reply by the time of publication. Shortly after Fry’s statement, the university announced that one student had their visa revoked and self-deported.Harvard’s Dean of Students, Thomas G. Dunne, similarly addressed concerns over possible deportations or detainments in a school-wide email. The email did not advise students on what to do in the presence of ICE, but rather, directed students to the Harvard University Police Department and Harvard Office of the General Counsel. Yale went further, publishing a page on the school website dedicated to answering student questions on what their rights are when it comes to dealing with immigration agents. It advised students that agents must present a warrant to enter nonpublic areas of campus, and gave specific and thorough advice for both students and staff on what to do when encountering immigration enforcement. Penalizing students for exercising first amendment rights Stunningly, other schools have gone in another direction entirely, seeming to turn aw

Apr 4, 2025 - 18:43

Universities divided in response to student visa crackdowns

In the wake of immigration enforcement showing up on college campuses, and in some cases detaining students and revoking student visas, universities are responding. But the reaction has been strikingly different from school to school across the U.S.

Last week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio clarified the Trump administration’s “right” to rescind student visas and deport international students who are critical of Israel’s U.S.-backed takeover of Palestine. At a press conference he said that at least 300 student visas have already been revoked. The statements, along with the ongoing uptick in immigration raids, further stoked fear in international students.

Declarations of support

Amid the worries, some universities are standing firmly by their international students. Tufts University made a bold show of support for Rumeysa Ozturk, the international graduate student who was taken into custody by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on March 25. Ozturk was cornered by agents while off-campus after she, along with three other students, wrote an op-ed urging divestment “from companies with direct or indirect ties to Israel.” Ozturk was accused of supporting Hamas, while the article made no mention of the group.

On April 2, Tufts University President Sunil Kumar issued a declaration in support of a motion filed by Ozturk’s legal team. The statement made clear that Tufts supports Ozturk and believes there are absolutely no legal grounds for her detainment. “The University has no information to support the allegations that she was engaged in activities at Tufts that warrant her arrest and detention.” The statement called for the student’s immediate release so that she can continue her education at the university.

Updated guidance for the international school community

Other schools are responding to the possibility of deportations and detainments, too, simply by updating guidance on school platforms or sending school-wide emails. In February, Johns Hopkins University (JHU) in Baltimore sent a memo to its student body, advising bystanders not to intervene with immigration agents. “Obstructing or otherwise interfering with certain government activity can be a crime,” the memo states. “Do not attempt to notify any person who may be subject to federal immigration enforcement that federal law enforcement officers are present, or engage in any behavior in an effort to enable them to leave the premises or hide.”

A representative from JHU told Fast Company in an emailed statement that the university shares the “concerns arising from recent detentions of international students and scholars across the country” and pointed to the importance of “due-process.” The statement continued, explaining that the school “does not provide information about the immigration status of members of our community unless required by law, and Johns Hopkins safety, security, and police officers do not request information regarding citizenship,” but said if immigration agents presented a warrant or court order, the university would comply. The representative pointed to JHU’s personalized immigration-related service and support for international students through its Office of International Services.

The representative did not respond to a question about whether the university would consider issuing a declaration of support, similar to Tufts’, if a student were to be taken into custody by DHS.

Temple University in Philadelphia released a statement regarding immigration enforcement’s recent arrests and detainment of students on other campuses, too. In it, President John Fry wrote, “Please know that if a similar situation were to arise here at Temple University, we are committed to doing all we lawfully can to assist our students in these circumstances.” When pressed, as to whether the school would offer legal statements of support to students if detained, a representative deferred Fast Company to another representative who, ultimately, did not reply by the time of publication. Shortly after Fry’s statement, the university announced that one student had their visa revoked and self-deported.

Harvard’s Dean of Students, Thomas G. Dunne, similarly addressed concerns over possible deportations or detainments in a school-wide email. The email did not advise students on what to do in the presence of ICE, but rather, directed students to the Harvard University Police Department and Harvard Office of the General Counsel. Yale went further, publishing a page on the school website dedicated to answering student questions on what their rights are when it comes to dealing with immigration agents. It advised students that agents must present a warrant to enter nonpublic areas of campus, and gave specific and thorough advice for both students and staff on what to do when encountering immigration enforcement.

Penalizing students for exercising first amendment rights

Stunningly, other schools have gone in another direction entirely, seeming to turn away from supporting international students and graduates. At Columbia University, outraged students chained themselves to the gate outside the school this week to protest the detainment of Mahmoud Khalil, the graduate student who was taken by ICE agents after organizing pro-Palestinians demonstrations. And some staff have come out fiercely against the arrest. But the university hasn’t released statements pressing for Khalil’s release.

Instead, Columbia itself has even disciplined students for participating in pro-Palestine demonstrations. In a campus-wide email, the school’s judicial board announced they had expelled, suspended, and even revoked degrees from some students who occupied Hamilton Hall last spring to protest the ongoing genocide. The announcement said the board “determined findings and issued sanctions to students ranging from multi-year suspensions, temporary degree revocations, and expulsions related to the occupation of Hamilton Hall last spring.”

In response to questions on whether the school would consider releasing a statement in support of Khalil, a representative pointed Fast Company to a March 13 statement, which said, “Columbia continues to make every effort to ensure that our campus, students, faculty, and staff are safe. Columbia is committed to upholding the law, and we expect city, state, and federal agencies to do the same.” The representative did not say if the school would provide legal statements to help expedite Khalil’s release.

Some say, it’s not enough

As universities are being tested, some students and staff feel that the response from their schools have been utterly inadequate. A graduate student worker with the Johns Hopkins University Union, who only wanted to be referred to as April M. for safety reasons, told Fast Company that JHU has “refused” to meet the needs of students and workers. “International students and workers make up a significant percentage of Hopkins’ population, and Hopkins Justice Collective has been making a clear call for a sanctuary campus and denunciation of current university practices, which the university has not only ignored, but papered over with essentially an affirmation of our feelings.”

They added, “Acknowledgment means nothing when student visas can be revoked without notice.” The graduate student also said that students at JHU are actively wiping their phones, cancelling flights to their home countries, and staying inside out of fear, all while the university ramps up its private police force, “growing the punitive muscle of the university that costs millions.”

The feeling that universities aren’t doing enough to stand up to the new anti-first-amendment push is shared by some professors, too. Jason Stanley, an American professor of philosophy at Yale who wrote the books How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them and Erasing History: How Fascists Rewrite the Past to Control the Future, is taking his lessons, and at least two other professors, to Canada. “Suddenly if you’re not a citizen of the United States, you can’t comment on politics if you’re a professor?” Stanley told CNN on his decision to move out of the country. “That’s crazy,” said Stanley. “That’s not a free society.”

While the professor blames the Trump administration, he feels now is the time for colleges to stand up to the president. Instead, he isn’t seeing the reaction from universities that he would’ve hoped for, saying, “They’re humiliating the universities and I don’t see the universities standing up to it.”