Some University of Michigan international students have had their visas revoked by the federal government "without notice to the university," according to one school official in an email Sunday. A dean in the 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, the Michigan Daily. Four students' visas were revoked, the Daily reported. 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. Representatives for the university did not immediately respond Sunday night for requests for comment but in a an email to the Daily, spokesperson Kay Jarvis said the university is aware of the visa revocations and has reached out to the affected students. The University of Michigan is one of a growing number of campuses in the United States facing a crackdown on foreign students. College leaders alarmed by the revocations say 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. Universities that have had students whose visas were stripped include Arizona State, Cornell, Minnesota State University, North Carolina State, University of Oregon, University of Texas and University of Colorado. The student news outlet for Central Michigan University reported Friday that staff at the school discovered records for several current and former international students have been terminated without notice by the Department of Homeland Security. President Donald Trump campaigned on a promise to deport foreign students involved in pro-Palestinian protests, and effort began with Columbia 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 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 controlled Gaza, has been designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. government. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said last week students are being targeted for involvement in protests along with others tied to “potential criminal activity.” Overpeck, the UM environmental school dean, said the records on Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, a database of international students, have also been wiped for the students affected by the visa revocations. An attorney from the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center would give a presentation Monday to help people understand their rights during encounters with immigration enforcement officers, address concerns about student or work visas and discuss First Amendment concerns about immigration and attempts to deport people for political speech, his email said. This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: UM international student visas revoked "without notice," official says in email

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Fifteen Auburn University community members had their visas revoked this week, according to university officials. Jennifer Wood Adams, executive director of public affairs at Auburn, said in a statement that the visas were revoked by the Department of Homeland Security’s Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Student and Exchange Visitor Program, not the university.  […]

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has announced that the US is immediately revoking visas issued to all South Sudanese passport holders due to the African nation refusing to accept its citizens who have been removed from the US. Rubio, in a statement on Saturday, added that the US will also block any arriving citizens of South Sudan, the world’s newest country, at US ports of entry. He blamed “the failure of South Sudan’s transitional government to accept the return of its repatriated citizens in a timely manner”. A cornerstone of President Donald Trump’s immigration policy is removing unlawful migrants from the US, with the promise of “mass deportations”. “It is time for the Transitional Government of South Sudan to stop taking advantage of the United States,” said Rubio. “Every country must accept the return of its citizens in a timely manner when another country, including the United States, seeks to remove them,” he added. It comes as fears grow that South Sudan may again descend into civil war. On 8 March, the US ordered all its non-emergency staff in South Sudan to leave as regional fighting broke out, threatening a fragile peace deal agreed in 2018. South Sudanese in the US were previously granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS), which allows them to remain in the US for a set period of time. TPS for South Sudanese in the US had been due to expire by 3 May. South Sudan, the world’s newest nation, gained independence in 2011 after seceding from Sudan. But just two years later, following a rift between President Salva Kiir and Vice-President Riek Machar, the tensions erupted into a civil war, in which more than 400,000 people were killed. A 2018 power-sharing agreement between the two stopped the fighting, but key elements of the deal have not been implemented – including a new constitution, an election and the reunification of armed groups into a single army. Sporadic violence between ethnic and local groups has continued in parts of the country. Since returning to office, the Trump administration has clashed with international governments over deportations of their nationals from the US. In January, Colombian President Gustavo Petro barred two US military flights carrying deported migrants from landing in his South American country. Petro relented after Trump promised to place crippling tariffs and sanctions on Colombia. One of the most famous South Sudanese citizens currently in the US is Duke University star basketball player 18-year-old Khaman Maluach. A spokesman for the university said on Sunday the school is “aware of the announcement… regarding visa holders from South Sudan”. “We are looking into the situation and working expeditiously to understand any implications for Duke students.” Maluach, who played for the South Sudanese Olympic basketball team last summer, spent much of his life in Uganda after fleeing his violence in his homeland as a child. The first-year student – whose Duke team was eliminated from the national championship tournament Saturday night after losing in the semi-finals to the University of Houston – is widely expected to join the ranks of the NBA after graduation. – BBC The post US cancels visas for South Sudanese over deportation dispute appeared first on The Namibian.

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Washington — Several international students who have had their visas revoked in recent weeks have filed lawsuits against the Trump administration, arguing the government denied them due process when it suddenly took away their permission to be in the U.S. The actions by the federal government to terminate students' legal status have left hundreds of scholars at risk of detention and deportation. Their schools range from private universities like Harvard and Stanford to large public institutions like the University of Maryland and Ohio State University to some small liberal arts colleges. In lawsuits against the Department of Homeland Security, students have argued the government lacked justification to cancel their visa or terminate their legal status. Why is the government canceling international students' visas? Visas can be canceled for a number of reasons, but colleges say some students are being singled out over infractions as minor as traffic violations, including some long in the past. In some cases, students say it's unclear why they were targeted. “The timing and uniformity of these terminations leave little question that DHS has adopted a nationwide policy, whether written or not, of mass termination of student (legal) status,” ACLU of Michigan attorneys wrote in a lawsuit on behalf of students at Wayne State University and the University of Michigan. In New Hampshire, a federal judge last week issued a restraining order in the case of a Dartmouth College computer science student from China, Xiaotian Liu, who had his status terminated by the government. Attorneys have filed similar challenges in federal court in Georgia and California. Homeland Security officials did not respond to a message seeking comment. In some high-profile cases, including the detention of Columbia University activist Mahmoud Khalil, President Donald Trump's administration has argued it should be allowed to deport noncitizens over involvement in pro-Palestinian activism. But in the vast majority of visa revocations, colleges say there is no indication affected students had a role in protests. “What you’re seeing happening with international students is really a piece of the much greater scrutiny that the Trump administration is bringing to bear on immigrants of all different categories,” said Michelle Mittelstadt, director of public affairs at the Migration Policy Institute. How do student visas work? Students in other countries must meet a series of requirements to obtain a student visa, usually an F-1. After gaining admission to a school in the U.S., students go through an application and interview process at a U.S. embassy or consulate abroad. Students on an F-1 visa must show they have enough financial support for their course of study in the U.S. They have to remain in good standing with their academic program and are generally limited in their ability to work off-campus during their academic program. Entry visas are managed by the State Department. Once they're in the U.S., international students’ legal status is overseen by the Student and Exchange Visitor Program under the Department of Homeland Security. In recent weeks, leaders at many colleges learned the legal residency status of some of their international students had been terminated when college staff checked a database managed by Homeland Security. In the past, college officials say, legal statuses typically were updated after colleges told the government the students were no longer studying at the school. After losing legal residency, students are told to leave the country Historically, students who had their visas revoked were allowed to keep their legal residency status and complete their studies. The lack of a valid entry visa only limited their ability to leave the U.S. and return, something they could reapply for with the State Department. But if a student has lost legal residency status, they risk detention by immigration authorities. Some students already have left the country, abandoning their studies to avoid being arrested. Higher education leaders worry the arrests and visa revocations could discourage students overseas from pursuing higher education in the United States. The lack of clarity of what is leading to revocations can create a sense of fear among students, said Sarah Spreitzer, vice president of government relations at the American Council on Education. “The very public actions that are being taken by ICE and the Department of Homeland Security around some of these students, where they are removing these students from their homes or from their streets, that’s not usually done unless there is a security issue when a student visa is revoked,” she said. “The threat of this very quick removal is something that’s new.” Colleges are trying to reassure students In messages to their campuses, colleges have said they are asking the federal government for answers on what led to the terminations. Others have re-emphasized travel precautions to students, recommending they carry their passports and other immigration documents with them. College leaders spoke of a growing sense of uncertainty and anxiety. “These are unprecedented times, and our normal guiding principles for living in a democratic society are being challenged,” University of Massachusetts Boston Chancellor Marcelo Suárez-Orozco wrote in an email. “With the rate and depth of changes occurring, we must be thoughtful in how we best prepare, protect, and respond.” Suárez-Orozco said the legal residency status had been canceled for two students and “five other members of our university community including recent graduates participating in training programs.” This article originally appeared on Associated Press: International students file legal challenges over widespread US visa revocations

US Warns Visa Holders: Break Rules, Face Deportation.

Visa holders that celebrate the death of a right-wing activist online are subject to legal status removal, per a government announcement.

The Trump administration's recent pledge to aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students has ignited widespread concern, potentially upending lives and