The federal government revoked the visas of 13 students at the University of Connecticut, according to University Spokesperson Stephanie Reitz.
This includes six undergraduate students, six graduate students and one alumnus in a post-graduate professional program, according to Reitz. All impacted students are located in Storrs. UConn Health has not been impacted by visa revocations. There are about 3,450 international students at UConn, Reitz said.
The Trump Administration has revoked over 300 student visas, according to Inside Higher Ed.
UConn sent an email to all students on Thursday, which notified students of visas being revoked and informed of resources available to students. It referenced student visa revocations across the country.
“These actions have touched UConn as well, and while the number of impacted students here is small, consequences for those impacted are significant,” the email said. “UConn, through its International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) unit, monitors the SEVIS records of our international students and visiting scholars on F and J visas daily, auditing records for any changes initiated by external government officials.”
The email said that if a record change occurs, the ISSS will inform students of the change and ask them to meet with staff from the Center for International Students and Scholar Services so they can be connected to legal and support resources.
The ISSS will also notify the impacted student’s department head or dean, according to the email.
“Our university units are working together to prepare our campuses and respond as quickly as possible to this rapidly evolving situation,” the email said.
A UConn Today statement released earlier this month stated that UConn cannot devote funding to legal representation.
“The University cannot devote resources to funding or otherwise supporting what would be considered the personal costs of individual students and employees based on their association with UConn,” the statement said. “This would be using public resources to provide a private benefit not available to the general public.”
One graduate student from China, whose visa was revoked, spoke with The Daily Campus on the condition of anonymity.
“They gave me some directions,” he said. “They told me to find an immigration lawyer. They told me to stay at home to wait for their updates.”
He said that a few of his professors reached out to him to ask if there was anything he needed. One met with him to discuss the possibility of remote education.
The student and his lawyer are working to file a lawsuit against the visa revocation, according to the student.
He said that he was told it was because he was told he had a criminal record, which he says he does not. Reitz said that UConn and impacted students have not been informed of the reasons behind visa revocations.
UConn Today released a list of legal resources and rights information. Students can view a UConn webpage with resources for undocumented students or attend a workshop on Friday on interactions with ICE and legal rights. People can educate themselves on immigrant rights at Informed Immigrant.