At least 5 Michigan universities grapple with revoked international student visas

International students attending at least five Michigan universities have had their visas revoked by the federal government, including four each at Wayne State University and the University of Michigan, university officials said.

Wayne State University President Kimberly Andrews Espy, along with the university provost and general counsel, sent a message to campus Monday afternoon that a routine check of the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System showed that the federal government had terminated the records of four students. WSU's Office of International Students and Scholars is working with those affected, they said.

"Today, we are navigating unique times in higher education," Espy and the two other officials wrote. "In this evolving situation, we remain committed to valuing all individuals. These are particularly challenging times for our international students and employees, and we recommend that they consult resources related to visas and external immigration assistance. The university also provides access to resources to support mental health and wellbeing in difficult circumstances."

Universities across the country are experiencing similar situations as the administration of President Donald Trump said last week it is revoking visas "every day."

"If they’re taking activities that are counter to our foreign — to our national interest, to our foreign policy, we’ll revoke the visa," U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said last week.

Asked if they were related to pro-Palestinian protests, Rubio said, "I think there might be a few that are not. ... Some are unrelated to any protests and are just having to do with potential criminal activity."

The ACLU and Michigan Immigrant Rights Center condemned the actions, calling them "authoritarian tactics."

"Abruptly revoking international student visas of immigrant students at the University of Michigan, Central Michigan University, and other universities and colleges in Michigan and around the nation is another attempt by this administration to sow chaos and fear, needlessly upending the future of these students’ education and lives," said a joint statement Monday. "These actions highlight the complete lack of due process and fairness that citizens and non-citizens are facing across our immigration system, and the erosion of students’ first amendment rights. "The termination of status for many of these students is an even more insidious threat to due process. These determinations provide no opportunity to respond and cannot easily be challenged within the United States by the students or the universities and colleges."

Oakland University officials said Monday they also had learned of one student who was returning to the USA from Canada. The student, who is from South Sudan but a permanent resident of Canada, was stopped at the border and had his visa revoked, OU spokesperson Brian Bierley said.

Michigan State University said Monday that an unspecified number of international students had their visas ended.

MSU's Office for International Students and Scholars is aware of international students whose visas have been revoked and is working with them to provide support, MSU spokeswoman Amber McCann said.

The office is closely monitoring the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, known as SEVIS, and plans to contact students if their SEVIS records are ended, McCann said. It also has been consulting with immigration attorneys to learn more, she said.

"The U.S. Department of State has been contacting international students directly if their visa has been revoked," McCann said.

Central Michigan University was among the first universities to reveal last week that several current and former international student records had been terminated after a staff member conducting routine reviews of SEVIS saw those students' records had been ended by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. CMU spokesperson Aaron Mills declined Monday to cite how many students had been affected.

At UM, the Department of Homeland Security revoked the visas of four students, UM spokesperson Kay Jarvis said.

"Administrators have contacted these students to advise them of potential consequences of this action," Jarvis said.

She did not respond to additional questions.

Last week, a dean in the UM School for Environment and Sustainability said in an email to staff, faculty and students that the visa revocations by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security included one SEAS student the school was aware of, according to the student newspaper, Michigan Daily.

Jonathan Overpeck, the Samuel A. Graham dean of SEAS, said the situation is "evolving quickly" in an email linked by the Daily about the student visa revocations. He said in the email dated Sunday that the school was working with UM's International Center and campus administration, and discussions were happening "across the university" about whether the students can finish their degrees or receive other support.

“We want to acknowledge the fear and concerns that exist, especially within the international community,” Overpeck said, with the next sentence in bold. “To our international community: we are here to support you and you are welcome here."

The reasons for the UM students' visa revocations were not given.

Other universities across the country that have reported that students' visas were stripped include Harvard, Arizona State, Cornell, the University of California, Minnesota State University, North Carolina State, the University of Oregon, the University of Texas and the University of Colorado. College leaders alarmed by the revocations said the Trump administration is using new tactics and vague justifications to push some students out of the country, according to the Associated Press.

Students stripped of their entry visas are receiving orders from the Department of Homeland Security to leave the country immediately — a break from past practice that often permitted them to stay and complete their studies.

Trump campaigned on a promise to deport foreign students involved in pro-Palestinian protests, and the effort began with Columbia University graduate student and Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, who became the face of the crackdown on campus protests. Khalil was arrested in March by immigration authorities. A green card holder, he was an outspoken figure in last year's protests against Israel's military campaign in Gaza during the Israel-Hamas war. His supporters say his arrest suppresses free speech and pro-Palestinian views.

The White House said following Khalil's detention that he should be deported because he organized “protests that not only disrupted college campus classes and harassed Jewish American students and made them feel unsafe on their own college campus, but also distributed pro-Hamas propaganda," the AP reported. Hamas, the militant group that runs Gaza, has been designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. government.

kkozlowski@detroitnews.com

jcardi@detroitnews.com