During spring break season, one of the busiest holiday travel times of the year, international students across the US are being warned to self-censor on social media and avoid travel abroad for fear of detention and deportation, amid a McCarthyist government crackdown on Palestine-related speech on campuses that has included revocation of visas, detention, and even abduction and disappearance of students and non-citizens.
Since the beginning of March, around a dozen known students and faculty across the US have been arrested and detained amid US President Donald Trump's crackdown on immigrants, with the main target at universities being pro-Palestinian student protesters.
Video footage shows students being apprehended by plainclothes authorities in the streets and in their own residences. After recent Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil was taken from his apartment building in New York, Trump vowed this would be the first of many to come.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that at least 300 student visas have been revoked, though only a few have made the news, raising questions as to the extent of arrests, detentions and deportations. In one of the latest cases of the detention of a foreign student, at the University of Minnesota, the name has not been revealed.
Trump officials, including White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt, have brought up the Immigration Act of 1952, an anti-communist statute that allowed for ideology to be used to deny immigration and allow for deportations.
"Rubio is using the 1952 Immigration Act to revoke visas of students. It was used during the Cold War to deport communists by using vague language," David Frank, a professor of rhetoric and political communication at the University of Oregon, told The New Arab.
"They're using the word 'aligned' to say people are aligned with Hamas. But what does that mean? Are you aligned with Hamas when you're protesting against the killing of more than 60,000 Palestinians?" he said.
'Intent to Depart'
In light of the Trump administration's severe but vague policies, many students, particularly those with any issues with the status of their visas, are opting to flee to avoid being detained by the authorities, with some going to Canada and others returning to their home countries.
The US Department of Homeland Security launched the CBP Home app on 10 March, which features a "self-deportation" option through which "undocumented immigrants" can declare their intent to leave the United States.
As per the US Customs and Border Protection website, CBP Home is a mobile application which can be downloaded for free either from Apple App or Google Play Store. It allows access to several services and comes with "Intent to Depart" option.
"Aliens can now notify the US Government of their intent to depart the United States," the website states.
Several universities have issued missives to students reminding them to be cautious when travelling in light of the recent immigration crackdowns.
"The Harvard International Office (HIO) is closely monitoring for any changes to immigration policies," reads a statement issued by Harvard earlier this month.
"We are mindful that many students are travelling this week during spring break. As you prepare to return to campus and may have questions, please contact your HIO advisor, as everyone's situation is unique," it continues. It then gives websites on travel and border security.
However, it's not just international borders and immigration status that are raising concerns for international students. Many are being targeted for social media posts using artificial intelligence. The State Department has called this "catch and revoke" to describe revoking their immigration status by catching them, often after finding they have spoken out against US support for Israel.
'Only get worse'
Though protests across the US are growing, the power to change policies or uphold the constitution lie in the hands of the executive, legislative and the judicial branches, which at the highest levels currently lean conservative.
"I think it can only get worse. Some Democrats oppose it, but the Republicans are falling in line," James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute, told TNA. He noted that he knows people who have cancelled their travel plans due to the ongoing immigrant crackdown. "The only hope we have is the courts, but I'm not confident the Supreme Court will do the right thing."
"I don't know where it ends or who will stop it," he added.
For his part, Frank, from the University of Oregon, has just finished a trip with students to Oxford University. He said when he arrived at Heathrow Airport, the border agent asked him the purpose of his visit, to which he responded it was a conference on human rights.
"He looked at my passport and pointed to the USA on it and started to laugh. I started to laugh too, but I almost cried," he said. He added that he and other professors leading the group felt the responsibility to talk with their students about their rights when going through US immigration upon their return, though none of them were on student visas.
"We need our 1.5 million F-1 [visa] students in this country," said Frank. "They allow our students who were born in the US to come into contact with students from other countries."
"Many international students are brilliant. When they go back to their home countries, they can report on the many positive qualities of this country. Will I be able to make this claim a year from now? I don't know," he said.
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