US revokes visas of 5 Harvard students, recent graduates

HAMILTON, Canada

Harvard University reported on Sunday that in the past three days the US government revoked the student visas of three current students and two recent graduates.

The Harvard International Office discovered the revocations during a routine records review and has since referred the affected individuals to legal assistance. It recently emerged that the Trump administration has a policy of revoking student visas but not informing the students, who would then be able to challenge the decision.

The university did not share the identities of the students due to confidentiality, but said: "We are not aware of the details of the revocations or the reasons for them."

It added: “Comparable numbers of students and scholars in institutions across the country have experienced similar status changes in roughly the same timeframe."

Stressing its support for foreign students and scholars, the international office also said: "The talent they bring to campus each day increases our ability to advance world-class discovery in fields that have meaningful impact on people’s lives, while creating positive relationships and discourse that expand the horizons of people across our community."

The revocation follows a wave of arrests of international students across the US in March. The Trump administration cited an immigration law allowing deportation for "serious adverse foreign policy consequences," while critics say the law is being abused and the students are falsely accused.

Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil and, from Türkiye, Tufts student Rumeysa Ozturk were recently detained for their pro-Palestine stance. Georgetown University graduate student Badar Khan Suri was held on similar charges.

Students across the US – citizens and non-citizens alike – have exercised their right to demonstrate and speak out against Israel's war on Gaza, which has killed more than 50,000 people since Oct. 7, 2023 and left the enclave in ruins.

According to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, approximately 300 student visas have been revoked. He said: “Every time I find one of these lunatics, I take away their visas."