(The Center Square) – Visas are apparently being reinstated for some foreign students at Arizona State University.
There was concern earlier this month that international students might have to return home. Inside Higher Ed reported that nationwide, “more than 1,800 students have lost their F-1 or J-1 student status as part of the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration and alleged antisemitism.” A chart published on the Inside Higher Ed website said 100 students at ASU had their visas “revoked.”
The Trump administration has more recently reversed its termination of foreign students’ visas.
A spokesperson for ASU confirmed in an email to The Center Square that federal authorities did revoke visas for some of the university’s students. The spokesperson then added that “ASU students are being reinstated.”
It is unclear how many of the 100 students are affected by this update. There are more than 17,000 international students at ASU, which prides itself on having one of the largest international student communities in the country.
“None of ASU’s students have been deported by the federal government,” said the ASU spokesperson.
The Center Square reached out to the State Department for comment but did not receive a response by press time.
Kelly Baur, graduate student government president of ASU, told The Center Square that she was relieved by news of the reinstated visas.
“We would like to see the university leadership communicate about what is going on at ASU regarding this situation, but we have not seen proactive communication with the student body regarding the revocation or reinstatement of student visas,” said Baur.
Baur went on to stress that visas should not be revoked from anyone without legal grounds.
“Everyone should be concerned when human rights are being violated by the government because an injury to one is an injury to all,” said Baur. “If they can revoke visas without any justification, what’s stopping them from stripping away citizenship or other legal statuses from others?”
In a Jan. 30 Fact Sheet, the White House said the purpose for the visa terminations was to “protect law and order, quell pro-Hamas vandalism and intimidation, and investigate and punish anti-Jewish racism in leftist, anti-American colleges and universities.”
