About a dozen Johns Hopkins University graduate students and recent graduates had their visa records terminated by the federal government, the university announced Tuesday.
In response, the Baltimore university is providing support to those students through the Office of International Services, such as academic advising and health and wellbeing services, according to the school’s website.
“We have received no information about the specific basis for the revocations but we have no indication that they are associated with free expression activities on campus,” the statement reads. “While visa revocations require students to depart the United States, we are not aware of any arrests or detentions of Johns Hopkins students as a result of these visa actions.”
The F-1 visa are being terminated through the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The program is a part of the National Security Investigations Division and helps “government organizations that have an interest in information on nonimmigrants whose primary reason for coming to the United States is to be students,” according to the division’s website.
Hopkins is one of a dozen colleges reporting instances of international student records being terminated in the Student Exchange and Visitor Information System, according to the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration, which provides information on how immigration policies and practices impact students.
On Monday, the University of Wisconsin–Madison announced the terminations of six current students and seven alumni on employment extensions, which means they must depart the United States immediately.
The school said in a statement that it wasn’t aware of federal law enforcement activity and doesn’t believe the actions are related to free speech events or political activity either.
“However, the precise rationale for these terminations is unclear,” UW-Madison said.
On Friday, Stanford University announced four students and two recent graduates had their student visas revoked.
The University of Pennsylvania, Duke University, Tufts University and Columbia University are also among the other schools the federal government reportedly terminated the visas of students and/or alumni.
Hopkins has a longstanding policy of not providing information about its affiliates’ immigration statuses unless required by law and not allowing access to college facilities unless mandated by a court order, according to the university.
“Our most important guidance is to contact Johns Hopkins Public Safety if you should encounter immigration enforcement officers on campus,” the university’s statement says. “Public Safety will immediately coordinate with the Office of General Counsel, and is best positioned to handle the situation for the safety and wellbeing of all involved.”
This article will be updated.
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