On the summer holidays of a PH.D. The program, an international student at the University of California, San Diego, was planning a trip with some friends to Hawaii. But after seeing international students throughout the United States stripped of your legal statusThe student decided against.
Any trip, even within the United States, did not seem worth it.
“I will probably jump that to … have the least amount of interactions with governments as possible,” said the student, who spoke about anonymity for fear of being attacked.
International students weighing trips to see the family, take a vacation or conduct research are thinking twice due to the Trump administration repressionthat has increased a sense of vulnerability.
Even before students suddenly begin to lose permission to study in the United States, some universities encouraged international students and professors Travel postponciting government efforts to deport students involved in Pro-Palestinian activism. As the scale of state terminations arose in recent weeks, more schools have warned against non -essential trips abroad for international students.
The University of California, Berkeley, for example, issued a notice last week saying that the next international trips were risky due to “strict research and application.”
At least 1,220 students in 187 schools, universities and university systems have been revoked or finished legal status since the end of March, according to a review of Associated Press of university statements, correspondence with school officials and judicial records.
However, the number of affected students seems much higher. At least 4,736 visas records of international students were completed in a government database that maintains its legal status, according to an immigration response and customs compliance of April 10 to Congress consultations.
Suddenly at risk of deportation, some students He hid While others He left the country on your own. Many of the students said they only had minor infractions in their records or did not know why their records were eliminated.
After federal judges raised due process in the cases of several students, the United States government Inverted endings But then he issued a new guide Expanding the reasons International students can lose their legal status in the future.
According to the new policy, the valid reasons for the termination of the State include the revocation of the visas that the students used to enter the US. In the past, if a student’s visa was revoked, they could generally remain in the United States to finish school. They simply could not enter again if they left the country.
The rapid evolution situation has left universities that fight to advise students.
A Michigan College employee who helps international students navigate the visa process said they are asking more than ever about summer trips. The employee, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak with the media, said he has often not being able to give sufficient answers.
Last year, the United States organized around 1.1 million international students, a source of essential enrollment income in many schools. The defenders say that the number is likely to be reduced as repression harms the attractiveness of the United States.
In recent weeks, Rishi Oza’s immigration law firm in North Carolina has received calls about travel risks almost daily of people of varied immigration status, including international students.
“You shake your head and say: ‘Is this the character of the country we want?'” He said Oza. “It seems that it is a bit out of place that people are afraid to leave and if they can return.”
Students in the United States with a visa should decide if their trips are critical, Oza said.
When trying to re -enter after leaving the country, they must bring immigration documents, school transcripts and even judicial documents if they were accused of a crime and the court dismissed the case. Ultimately, lawyers cannot predict what will happen at the airport, he said.
Unpredictability has put an international student at the University of Illinois. The student, who requested anonymity to avoid being attacked, has established since one of his classmates abandoned the country after his legal status was completed.
The student’s plan to travel to his country of origin in Asia this summer causes feelings of panic, but he has no other place to stay. He bought his plane ticket and is committed to the trip. His anxiety for what could happen when he returns, however, is still there.
“At this time,” he said, “I’m afraid I couldn’t come back.” ___
Associated Press Christopher L. Keller’s reporter contributed from Albuquerque, New Mexico.
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