The Trump administration revoked the visas of more than two dozen current or former University of Wisconsin System students, UW officials have announced.
A terminated visa generally means the student must immediately leave the U.S. There typically is no grace period.
Here’s what to know about the visa cancellations across Wisconsin universities:
At least 13 UW-Madison student visas revoked
UW-Madison said six current students and seven alumni who received employment extensions of their visas had their visas terminated as of Monday.
UW-Madison said it played no role in the terminations, was unaware of any Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity on campus and did not believe the terminations were related to free speech or protests.
UW-Madison enrolls about 8,000 international students, according to university data. The international student services division has contacted the 13 affected students to inform them of potential ramifications if they stay in the country and where to access legal resources, if requested.
Student visas at other UWs also revoked
UW System spokesperson Mark Pitsch said officials were aware of 14 cases at the 12 other UW institutions involving students or former students. He was unable to break down these cases by institution.
International student enrollment has been increasing across the UW System, from 9,200 in 2014-15 to 10,600 in 2023-24. The increase has been driven primarily by growing the numbers of graduate students.
Altogether, international students made up 6.5% of the overall student population in 2023-24.
What’s been happening nationally with student visas?
Nationally, some of the students whose visas have been revoked participated in pro-Palestinian protests. For example, Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University graduate student of Palestinian descent who was active in campus protests, was arrested and sent to Louisiana for possible deportation, despite being a permanent resident.
But a number of other student visas were revoked for no apparent reason, leaving students and schools guessing why individuals were targeted.
The visa terminations are part of a nationwide campaign to strip international students of their ability to stay in the U.S., often for reasons unclear to the universities. Nearly 300 students nationally have been notified of visa cancellations, The New York Times reported this week.
Why are student visas being canceled?
In several of the most high-profile cases, the Trump administration is not accusing the student visa holders of any crimes. The Trump administration has said Secretary of State Marco Rubio has the authority to revoke the visas of non-citizens if their actions pose “potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences.”
The White House directed inquiries to the State Department. A staff member at the press office there pointed to comments State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce made Tuesday at a news conference about student visa revocations.
“We don’t go into statistics or numbers. We don’t go into the rationale for what happens with individual visas,” Bruce said. “What we can tell you is that the department revokes visas every day in order to secure our borders and to keep our community safe, and we’ll continue to do so.”
Contact Kelly Meyerhofer at kmeyerhofer@gannett.com or 414-223-5168. Follow her on X (Twitter) at @KellyMeyerhofer.
Sophie Carson is a general assignment reporter who reports on religion and faith, immigrants and refugees and more. Contact her at scarson@gannett.com or 920-323-5758.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Student visas revoked for at least 27 University of Wisconsin students