SEATTLE — As of this writing, five current University of Washington students, plus four recent graduates in a post-grad training program, have had their visas revoked by the federal government without any prior warning, the university wrote.
“We became aware of these actions during recent checks of international student records in the federal government’s Student & Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS). The SEVIS record states the visa revocations were due to an immigration status violation,” UW said.
The university said that neither it nor the students impacted were given any kind of warning before the visas were “unilaterally cancelled.”
No additional information or details were provided.
Despite rumors and other instances across the country, UW officials do not seem to believe that there is any indication that these revocations are due to any kind of activism or other protected free speech.
Last spring, students set up an encampment on the Quad in protest over the school’s financial ties to Israel.
They are also not aware of immigration officials coming onto the campus related to this situation.
According to The New York Times, as of 9 a.m. on April 8, nearly 300 international students have been abruptly stripped of their visas.
The NYT said some immigration officers have arrested international students related to their involvement in pro-Palestinian causes. In other cases, students had committed other legal infractions, such as driving over the speed limit or while intoxicated, oftentimes many years ago.
“We are deeply concerned about the well-being of these students and graduates and are working to support them. International students and scholars are essential and valued members of our University and they contribute immensely to our community, state and nation. The UW will continue to support them and provide the resources they need to be to able learn, teach and succeed here,” the university said in a statement.
“Our priority remains supporting our international students and scholars and we will continue to proactively communicate directly with them about these issues. Because the federal government is not notifying universities of status changes, we have been checking SEVIS records daily so that we can proactively contact students whose records have been changed,” the statement continued.
The university said that if a student is impacted or has their visa revoked to contact international student services office immediately for information and resources.
These resources include access to legal services available to students as part of their student fees, as well as mental health and academic support.
KIRO 7′s Deborah Horne will have more on the story at 6 p.m. and 7 p.m.
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