Community reacts to UNC student visa revocations

On April 8, the student visa’s of six UNC international student visas were terminated by the Trump Administration. The revocations were among a wave of many that have occurred at college campuses across the country, including Duke University and North Carolina State University. UNC was not directly notified of the terminations. 

In a Q&A with University Communications on Friday, Chancellor Lee Roberts said that the University did not initiate the terminations and that they are actively monitoring the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS). He said that if an international student or scholar’s SEVIS record has been terminated, a member of International Student and Scholars Services, or ISSS, will contact the student or scholar directly and that the team in commutation with students about how they can maintain their immigration status. 

Media Relations declined to comment on the situation outside of the Q&A, and the ISSS office declined to comment.

Deborah Weissman, professor at the UNC School of Law, said that the Department of Homeland Security can cancel a visa through the SEVIS database. 

She said that in the six UNC cases, students had not been notified until after the fact, and while students do have opportunities to contest, these opportunities are not perfect. She said the more permanent an international student's status is, the more due process applies. 

“I mean, you know, everybody, whether you're undocumented or a local permanent resident, has some degree of constitutional protections,” she said. “And certainly students on F-1 visas have more than somebody who doesn't have documentation.” 

On April 6, a complaint was filed to the United States District Court for the Central District of California on behalf of University of California students whose visas have been revoked. 

The complaint states that the termination of a SEVIS record ends F-1 student status. The complaint argues that ICE is not authorized to terminate the plaintiff's student status even when a visa is revoked, and the grounds cited by ICE in the SEVIS termination do not provide legal authority to terminate the plaintiff's SEVIS record. 

"An F-1 visa controls a student’s entry into the country, not their continued lawful presence once admitted," the complaint states. 

The complaint argues that the DHS’s policy appears to be attempting to coerce students to “self-deport” despite not actually violating their status. It also states that the policy appears to be primarily targeting African, Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslim and Asian students. 

In January, The Trump administration said that international students and scholars who participated in protests against the war in Gaza could lose their visas and face deportation.

Weissman said that there is not enough data to discern a trend, but she thinks that a pattern connecting revocation to students who have been outspoken about political issues or participated in protests will show when a pattern does emerge. 

She said there are also some students facing revocation that have been previously arrested, but that in the past prior arrests have not triggered visa revocations.  

“That doesn't mean that ICE or DHS doesn't have authority to, but the fact that you know, if it's correct, that schools are reporting some very low level infractions or some types of offenses that, in the past, have not given rise to a visa revocation, you know, one has to wonder if this is just this effort to purge this country of immigrants," she said. 

The UNC Workers Union has organized a team of immigration lawyers who are willing to represent the students whose visa were revoked for free.  

Nyssa Tucker, president of the UNC Workers Union, said that graduate students across the country have been targeted and they are concerned about that being the case at UNC because students in the graduate space specifically have been very vocal with activism. 

“We are in direct contact with three of the students whose SEVIS was terminated.” Tucker wrote in a follow up statement. “They are all STEM students. It's hard to make an assertion at this time but it could be the case that the Trump administration is targeting STEM students specifically.” 

She said that some of the scholars have chosen to go back to their countries of origin and some have chosen to stay and fight the revocation through the legal system. The students the workers union are in contact with are from India, South Korea and China, and some are trying to work with their departments to figure out how to finish their degrees from abroad.

A scholarship-holding first-year at UNC, who will be referred to as student A for safety, attends the University on an F-1 visa. They said that they do not feel the University has done much to assure international students that they will be okay. 

“To me, it's just a bit concerning, some of the things that are happening under this current administration.” they said. “This is not something I expected coming here, that international citizens would just get their visas terminated without getting any real justification or reason behind it.”

Student A also said that they have had to rethink their summer plans to go back home, out of fear of not being allowed back into the US. They added that while they themselves do not have a large social media presence, they do not understand how the government could penalize students for taking part in peaceful protests, saying that those actions undermine human rights to be able to peacefully protest. 

"If my visa gets terminated, what next?" they said. "Like, what do I do?“ 

Student Body President Adolfo Alvarez said that he believes the Trump Administration is trying to install fear around the country, but he knows just as much as anyone else right now. He said he is committed to express his concerns to the University and advocate for students to as many people as possible.  

He also said that while the University cannot reinstate the visas because it's out of their jurisdiction, they can show support in a legal and moral capacity, referencing a situation where Tufts University worked with Ph.D. student Rümeysa Öztürk to file a complaint to a federal judge to secure her release from detention and enable her to return to complete her studies.

“I think that the main priority that I want to know from the Chancellor is, what guarantees are you going to provide for international students within the jurisdiction of the University, how are you going to make sure that students are protected and that you are prioritizing them and not just letting a political agenda get through the University without any any fight back.” he said. 

Weissman said all students should be aware of the basic rights that they have, like the right to remain silent and the right to speak to a lawyer. 

“If they have an attorney, there's a form called the G-28 and they should sign it.” she said. “The attorneys representing them should have it, because at least you know, it can slow up the process. An ICE officer would have to recognize that this person has representation, and I think their action would allow that individual to call their attorney, to call their family.”

@DELCRAWL

@dailytarheel | university@dailytarheel.com

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