US revokes visas of 4 Columbia University students amid pro-Palestinian protests

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has terminated the visas of four international students at Columbia University in New York City, according to a report Sunday from the Columbia Daily Spectator student newspaper.

Columbia University Provost Angela Olinto announced the news through a campus-wide email in which she said the university learned of the revocations “over the past two days” but did not know when the students’ visas were revoked.

Olinto said that campus officials were not notified of the visa terminations by the Trump administration and that they only found out about the action through “proactive daily checks” of the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS).

SEVIS is an online system run by DHS that tracks and monitors the records and information of international students in the United States.

Olinto said the International Students and Scholars Office is “monitoring the situation closely” by notifying students of changes in their SEVIS status and connecting them with external legal assistance.

She also referenced various media reports that said the Department of Homeland Security was targeting students for participating in pro-Palestinian protests or for minor criminal infractions and that international students were being stripped of their entry visas and being told directly by DHS to leave the country immediately.

“The federal government has begun taking action to terminate visa eligibility for international students across the country for alleged incidents, including minor traffic violations,” said Olinto.

Minnesota State University in Mankato announced last week that five of the school’s international students had their visas revoked for unclear reasons. University President Edward Inch told reporters that they learned about the revocations after running a status check in an international student database.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced at a March 27 news conference that the State Department had already revoked more than 300 student visas because of improper social activism on campus.

“We gave you a visa to come and study and get a degree, not to become a social activist who tears up our university campuses,” said Rubio. “And if we’ve given you a visa and then you decide to do that, we’re going to take it away.”

“Every time I find one of these lunatics, I take away their visa,” Rubio added.