A doctoral student in California in California had a sevis enrollment – digital evidence of their valid student visa – terminated by at risk of their immigration status.
Speaking to TechCrunch, the student who asked for anonymity of fear of repression said they had been notified through the International Student Center of his college that they had been identified when checking criminal records. The student said they have been studying in the United States for nearly a decade, starting as a student and that they have no criminal record.
“The most common reason may be interaction with the police many years ago, even before I can graduate,” the student said. “I conducted AI research and planned to continue my research after graduation.”
Over the last few months, more than a thousand international students in the United States have had their own status of visas challenged by the State Department and Immigration and Customs Law enforcement as part of an aggressive repression organized by the Trump administration. In many cases, colleges have not been notified directly by the relevant federal agencies, leaving students with a little notice – or resorting.
Yisong Yue, a professor of machine learning in Caltech, told TechCrunch that the US government’s firm position to student visas is “Talent Talent Pipeline.”
“The cumulative effect makes the US a much less attractive destination for many talented researchers,” Yue said. “Because the research is highly specialized when a PhD student is withdrawn from a project, he can return the project for months or years. Beyond specific students and the projects concerned, many visa students are worried.”
Few institutions are spared by repression. According to reports, students attending universities at Ivy League, large public colleges and small liberal arts schools have stopped their visas. While the government accused some of these students in support of Palestinian militant groups or participation in “anti -Semitic” activities, others were aimed at minor legal violations, such as exceeding tickets or other movement disorders.
Some of the withdrawals seem to be administrative errors. It is reported that a student, Suguru Onda, a doctoral candidate for computer science at Brigham Young University, was canceled their student visa without explanation, shortly after their immigration lawyer filed a case. Lawyer Adam Crake said the government is using AI to screen visa holders without a person check, leading to mistakes.