Foreign students face deportation under Trump immigration crackdown – News

An AI doctoral student in California told News in a report published today that his immigration status in the U.S. is currently under threat after spending a decade in the country — just one of about 1,000 international students whose visas have been revoked recently.

The actions have been seen by some as having a chilling effect on foreign tech talent needed in the U.S. to keep it at the forefront of the industry, especially in artificial intelligence.

The student told News that his/her status in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, or SEVIS, has just been terminated. The student, who wanted anonymity, fearing reprisals for discussing the matter, was notified by the college’s international student center. The termination was related to a criminal records check, despite the student saying their record was clean.

“The most likely cause may be an interaction with the police many years ago, even before I entered graduate school,” the student told News. “I was conducting research in the AI field and had planned to continue my research after graduation.”

In what’s become a season of fear and paranoia for international students in the U.S., there have been reports of men in suits appearing at various universities and dragging students to unmarked cars from where they’ve been taken to detention centers.

It’s believed that about 1,000 international students or recent graduates have had their visas revoked throughout the country over the last few weeks, with the Trump administration stating that visas are a “privilege” and that privilege can be taken away at any time. Students have reported not knowing the reason when their university has informed them that their visa status has suddenly changed.

For some, the reason was likely that they’ve taken part in protests, such as pro-Palestinian protests, and then comes a revocation out of nowhere. “I could be next,” a student at Georgetown University told the BBC, fearing the articles he’d written about Israel and the war in Gaza could land him in deep water.

In some cases, airing views about war or human rights issues isn’t the only problem. One student reported receiving an email from her university that informed her: “ISS [International Student Services] is writing to inform you that your SEVIS record was terminated …” She was befuddled, thinking it might be a scam email, only after some research to find out others had received such an email and it seems over nothing more than parking tickets. She had had two in the past.

Once students’ SEVIS status is terminated, they have a grace period, usually 15 days, either to leave the U.S. or to fight for restoring their status. If they can’t override the order, they risk being deported.

The sudden crackdown may depend on the use of AI, which is screening masses of data and pulling up names, sometimes names that clearly should not be on a hit list. Some students have already fought back. A judge in Georgia last week ordered a temporary restraining order when a mass of students had their visa status terminated.

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