SPOKANE — Federal officials have taken action to force some international students at Washington State University to leave the United States.
The school has reported three student visa revocations and student record terminations as of Tuesday, according to a university letter sent to students and staff, amid President Donald Trump’s crackdown of deporting immigrants and his administration’s wave of student visa revocations across the nation.
The university hasn’t been notified when one of their students’ visas or records are scrapped — sometimes, neither is the student, said Director of International Student and Scholar Services, Kate Hellmann. In the past, both of these things happening at once were considered highly unusual.
The federal database known as “SEVIS,” the student exchange visitor information system, holds the students’ records and visa information when they are accepted to study in a college program. That program allows the student to remain in the U.S. When it’s terminated, it creates an “unlawful presence” in the U.S., Hellmann said.
“The record termination puts them at risk because if they don’t self-deport, they are subject to being picked up and put into detention or going to immigration jail,” she added. “And the students aren’t aware that it’s happened to them.”
Trump has long promised, in his campaign speeches and now during his presidency, to deport immigrants with violent criminal records. But the school has seen student visas and records terminated for low-level offenses, said interim Vice President of International Programs Paul Whitney. The range is vast, he said — the standard to deport a student for an offense could now be as minor as a speeding ticket.
“There are terminations taking place for misdemeanor activities that would not, in the past, have gotten a student sent home,” Whitney said.
The U.S. Department of State previously said via email it would not disclose information due to “privacy considerations” and “visa confidentiality” the last time The Spokesman-Review reached out.
The State Department included in its response: “The United States has zero tolerance for noncitizens who violate U.S. laws. Those who break the law, including students, may face visa refusal, visa revocation, and/or deportation.”
Normally, if a student’s visa was revoked, they would still be able to stay in the U.S. with their SEVIS record until they are done studying, according to Hellmann. That revocation would be reviewed by a U.S. Consulate office to determine if the visa could be re-issued. The terminations of a visa and a SEVIS record, something that doesn’t usually go hand in hand, is creating a sense of urgency and panic on campus among international students.
“They’re not illegally living here until their SEVIS record is terminated,” Hellmann said. “The change is confusing to people with the difference in process and how that’s impacting lives. The interpretation of that termination is ‘go now.’ “
International advisers are checking the database two or three times a day out of precaution, Hellmann said. If they see a termination, their first goal is to notify the student. The second, she said, is to do everything in their power to give the student all their available options about what to do next.
“That is the most important thing,” she said. “From there we are working with academic advisers, department chairs and with the office of the dean of students. How do we ensure these students make it to the finish line? We want them to get the care they need in time of distress, and frankly, a crisis.”
The international office at WSU is holding open advising every day in the afternoons to provide consultation to students and employees who need case-by-case support, Hellmann said.
The university expects visa revocations to continue, citing “current national trends” it said in its Tuesday letter. The government has revoked hundreds of student visas already, with more than half of U.S. states reporting visa revocations and sowing panic across college campuses. Gonzaga University and University of Idaho are also no stranger to the impact — each school has reported two students that had their visas revoked earlier this month, and the UI had reported two more by Wednesday.
“We recommend everyone be proactive and know your rights,” WSU’s letter said.
The news prompted a protest from Gonzaga students last week, in which they rallied against the Trump administration’s attempts to deport students, The Spokesman-Review reported.
Trump issued an executive order in January stating he will revoke all visas of students who participate in protests against Israel related to the war in Gaza, calling their behavior antisemitic and claiming they are “Hamas sympathizers.” Just this month, the Department of Homeland Security also released a memo informing the nation they will be “screening” immigrants’ social media for antisemitism.
“To all the resident aliens who joined in the pro-jihadist protests, we put you on notice: come 2025, we will find you, and we will deport you,” Trump’s January order states. “I will also quickly cancel the student visas of all Hamas sympathizers on college campuses, which have been infested with radicalism like never before.”
Across the country, people like Tufts University student Rumeysa Ozturk have been was detained by immigration officials. Ozturk was arrested in March for allegedly engaging in activities that “support Hamas” for writing an opinion piece in the student newspaper about the war in Gaza. But the Department of State found the Trump administration had no evidence to show she engaged in any antisemitic activity, the Washington Post reported. She was arrested anyway.
It’s unclear if protests were the reason for any visa revocations, but students at each school held protests against the Gaza war last year, according to reporting from The Spokesman-Review.
WSU says it’s working with each student who had their visa revoked to identify “resources and all available options” for them to continue their education. University officials are urging those at WSU to reconsider international travel if they are allowed to be in the U.S. but not a citizen, to carry all legal documents on their person, to use caution when participating in protests and to know your rights on and off campus.
The school also informs anyone affiliated with WSU to call the WSU Division of the Attorney General’s Office if they are served with a warrant, or call the International Student and Scholar Services if federal immigration makes any other type of contact with a student or employee.
