Further intensifying the Trump administration's anti-immigration crackdown in the United States, immigration authorities have reportedly revoked several international student visas for foreign who are currently pursuing higher studies in major universities including Harvard, Tufts and Stanford.
As per media reports, the news of the visa cancellation surfaced only after federal immigration records were updated.
The drastic anti-immigration move further intensified Trump administration's crackdown on international students, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying last month that 300 or more such visas had been cancelled, as per a report by NDTV.
From India's post-doctoral scholar Badar Khan Suri, and green card holder Palestinian Mahmoud Khalil to Tufts University's Turkish scholar Rumeysa Ozturk and Brown University's Lebanese professor Rasha Alawieh- many have faced so far the Trump administration's outrage on immigrants.
Visas Terminated Across US Universities
It has been reported that dozens of students and recent graduates, particularly in California, underwent the harrowing experience of visa cancellation.
Besides Harvard and Stanford, the students who faced the major inconvenience reportedly belonged to different campuses of the University of California including UCLA, UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UC San Diego, UC Santa Cruz, according to the Los Angeles Times.
"The university learned of six students who had their student visas revoked," Stanford said in a statement on Friday, as per an NDTV report. Harvard University on Sunday reported that three current Harvard students and two recent graduates also faced the visa termination issue.
Moreover, similar cancellations have been reported at Dartmouth College, Minnesota State University, Arizona State University, and the University of Oregon as well, according to the Associated Press.
ICE Detains Turkish Doctoral Student From Tufts University
Amid Trump's crackdown on pro-Palestinian supporters, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials recently detained and revoked the visa of a Turkish doctoral student at Tufts University. 30-year-old Rumeysa Ozturk's detention went viral on social media after it showed that a group of masked people, allegedly ICE agents, took her away in an unmarked vehicle.
As per the viral video, six people, with their faces covered, approached the student outside her home in Somerville on Tuesday night. As per the student's lawyer and neighbours who witnessed this, her detention was more similar to a "kidnapping."
The "officials" went on to take away Ozturk's phone and handcuffed her as she yelled for help. The detention took place when Ozturk, who was leaving to meet friends for iftar, a meal that breaks the fast during the month of Ramadan.
Tufts University has also stated that it was unaware of the detention and did not share any information regarding Ozturk with the federal government.
U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani issued an order to the federal government, demanding an answer and the reason behind Ozrturk's detention by Friday.
Ozturk is a doctoral student at the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at Tufts University. The Turkish student was enrolled in the private university on a valid F-1 visa. In March 2024, Ozturk wrote an op-ed in the school's newspaper, where she criticised the university's response to the pro-Palestinian movement.
Deportation Bid Of Indian Scholar Badar Khan Suri
Indian post-doctoral scholar at Georgetown University, Badar Khan Suri was detained by the Trump administration over allegations of spreading anti-semitism and having links to Hamas, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said.
US District Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles in Alexandria, paused the deportation of Suri stating that he “shall not be removed from the United States unless and until the Court issues a contrary order.”
Suri's deportation incident came as the latest case amid the Trump administration라이브 바카라 stringent crackdown on foreign students who participated in anti-Israel protests across US university campuses last year.
Badar Khan Suri was born in India and he completed his PhD in Peace and Conflict Studies in 2020 at Jamia Millia Islamia in New Delhi. Reportedly, his doctoral thesis, “Transitional Democracy, Divided Societies and Prospects for Peace: A Study of State Building in Afghanistan and Iraq".
Detention Of Mahmoud Khalil
Mahmoud Khalil, a lawful US resident with a green card, was detained by federal immigration agents in New York. Following his detention, he was sent to an immigration jail in Louisiana.
Khalil is a Palestinian activist. Born in Syria to Palestinian parents, he entered the United States to attend Columbia University in 2022 for his master's degree. During his time here, he married an American citizen, who is now eight months pregnant.
During the widespread protests against Israel's war on Gaza across US universities, Khalil was a key figure and served as a mediator between student protestors and university officials.
Brown University Prof deported To Lebanon
Brown University Professor Rasha Alawieh was recently deported to Lebanon by US authorities. This development came amid the Trump administration's crackdown on pro-Palestine protestors at university campuses.
As per US authorities, the Rhode Island doctor was deported after "sympathetic photos and videos” of Hassan Nasrallah, a former leader of Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, were found in her phone.
"Last month, Rasha Alawieh traveled to Beirut, Lebanon, to attend the funeral of Hassan Nasrallah— a brutal terrorist who led Hezbollah, responsible for killing hundreds of Americans over a four-decade terror spree. Alawieh openly admitted to this to CBP officers, as well as her support of Nasrallah," reads the official statement issued by the Department of Homeland Security.
