UC SANTA BARBARA, Calif.—On April 8th, UC Santa Barbara reported multiple students had their visas terminated by the Trump administration with no advanced notice.
“Just the very idea that the government would try to have this kind of control over higher education, I think should give us all concern,” said UC Santa Barbara Political Science Professor Mark Juergensmeyer.
“If they stay, they face penalties for staying here outside of status. And so they're faced with this really big dilemma. And again, because it happens literally overnight, they don't have a chance to prepare. If they're engaged in research, they're engaged in some sort of project. There are timing issues. It creates so much havoc,” said Immigration Lawyer Vanessa Frank.
UC Santa Barbara Political Science Professor Mark Juergensmeyer says this is a huge abuse of power that should concern everyone.
“Right now, today, it might just involve international students from foreign countries and universities. But if the university if government has this kind of authority, that would give it this kind of ability to interfere with with lives and to grab people off the street and to send them off to prison or to deport them for reasons that are not clear, that really imperils all of us,” said Juergensmeyer. Monday, a university spokeswoman says 11 of the 12 revoked visas have been reinstated.
Ten of those eleven are current students, and one is a recent graduate.
But the university declined to say why the visas were initially revoked.
“In every case, authorities point to some minor infraction. Often it's even a traffic infraction, But they have not pointed to any particular policy. They all say that they're simply enforcing the law,” said Frank.
Both Frank and Juergensmeyer believe student visas were targeted due to pro-Palestinian protests. “International students can be deported if they go against American foreign policy. And so somehow this was being used to target protesters who were involved in the pro-Palestinian protest. Now, that's odd for a number of reasons. It's then made less clear by using all kinds of traffic tickets and minor offenses as reasons for rounding up students,” said Juergensmeyer. “Even if they were engaged in some sort of political protest, that also is protected and is permitted under visa regulations. So and it's important and that's important that we do that. It's important that we continue to protect that because we need free speech,” said Frank.
The Associated Press reports that more than 1,200 international students will have their legal status restored following several court challenges against the administration.
Federal Government reinstates F-1 Visas for international students, including several at UC Santa Barbara News Channel 3-12.
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