The Trump administration has revoked numerous international student visas at California universities, including UCLA, UC San Diego, UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UC Irvine, and Stanford. University leaders, students, and faculty have expressed concern over the cancellations.
At UCLA, at least nine international students had their visas revoked, though it remains unclear whether any students were detained or the specific reasons for the revocations. UC San Diego Chancellor Pradeep Khosla confirmed that five students had their visas canceled and reported that one student was detained at the border, denied entry, and deported. Khosla stated that the federal government had not provided an explanation for the visa terminations but assured that the university was offering support to the affected students.
UC Berkeley identified at least six revoked visas, including four for current students and two for recent graduates. UC Davis reported that seven students and five recent graduates had their visas terminated. UC Irvine was also impacted, although officials did not provide further details. At Stanford, four students and two recent graduates had their visas revoked, but no reasons were given for the cancellations.
The University of California issued a statement acknowledging that multiple campuses were affected by the revocations and confirmed that it was working to support those impacted. USC, which has the largest population of international students in California, did not provide details about whether any of its students were included in the cancellations.
These visa revocations are part of a broader trend of mass cancellations at campuses across the U.S., including universities like the University of Kentucky, University of Oregon, and Ohio State University. While many of the cancellations last month were linked to pro-Palestinian activism, the reasons for the recent actions remain unclear.
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security stated that each case would need to be reviewed individually. However, it is not yet clear how many California campuses were affected or how many visas were revoked in total.
Student leaders at UCLA expressed solidarity with international students, emphasizing their importance to the campus community and pledging to advocate for them.
The visa cancellations are part of broader actions by the Trump administration, which last month began revoking student visas at universities with significant pro-Palestinian activism, accusing some students of supporting Hamas and being a national security threat.