Nearly 300 international students across the United States have recently lost their legal right to stay on, sparking panic among students and confusion among universities, as many now face potential detention or deportation.

The affected students come from a diverse group of institutions, including prestigious private universities like Harvard and Stanford, as well as major public colleges such as the University of Texas at Austin, Minnesota State University-Mankato, and several campuses of the University of California.

According to university officials and multiple media reports, many students were suddenly notified by the US State Department or their universities that their visas or legal status had been terminated — often without clear explanation. Immigration lawyers say they've been flooded with urgent calls and emails from students trying to understand what went wrong.

Traditionally, only serious criminal convictions have jeopardized a student’s visa. But under the current wave of terminations, students have reportedly been arrested for minor infractions such as traffic violations, or for their involvement in political activism — particularly pro-Palestinian demonstrations. Some students have even been arrested by immigration officers for their involvement in pro-Palestinian causes.

“This upends all usual practice by the government,” said Miriam Feldblum, CEO of the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration, which represents over 570 colleges and universities. “They are terminating students’ statuses in a way they have never done before and with virtually no explanation and little recourse to correct or appeal by either the institution or the students.”

In many cases, no legal wrongdoing was cited. Immigration lawyers claim that the Trump administration has often given no reason at all, leaving institutions and students in the dark. 

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Last month, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio reportedly instructed US diplomats to review social media activity of some visa applicants, with an eye toward excluding individuals critical of the United States or Israel.

Both the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security have declined to comment publicly on the matter.

This latest crackdown is part of the broader Trump administration effort to tighten immigration — legal and undocumented — and to pressure universities to curb what the president alleges is growing antisemitism on campuses.

In 2024 alone, the US issued over 400,000 student visas. Now, advocates for international education are warning that these unpredictable visa cancellations could seriously harm the country’s ability to attract global talent.

According to the lawyers, some of the students targeted recently have previously committed offences such as speeding or driving while intoxicated.  They stated that such offences did not typically result in deportation. 

Without a visa, a foreign student becomes undocumented and must depart the United States or face detention and deportation proceedings.  Several attorneys claimed they had clients who chose to leave the country for fear of being arrested by ICE agents, the Homeland Security agency tasked with carrying out Trump's promise of mass deportations.

Immigration attorneys say some students affected were close to completing their doctoral dissertations, while others were undergraduates or recent graduates working legally in the US through a special post-study employment program.

“This is totally unprecedented,” said Fuji Whittenburg, an immigration lawyer in California with two decades of experience. “Even a brush with law enforcement — without a conviction or even an arrest — is proving enough to terminate a visa.”

Some students, fearful of arrest by ICE agents, have already left the country voluntarily.