- The U.S. Department of State has revoked over 300 visas of foreign students accused of disruptive actions, including vandalism, harassment or occupying university buildings.
- Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish student near Boston, was detained after her visa was revoked, possibly linked to her pro-Palestinian op-ed calling for Tufts University to divest from Israel.
- Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has arrested multiple foreign students, including Alireza Doroudi of the University of Alabama) and Mahmoud Khalil from Columbia University, with unclear or disputed grounds for detention.
- Some arrests, like that of Leqaa Kordia (also from Columbia), are tied to alleged pro-Hamas activism, though visa violations are cited as the official reason.
- Rubio emphasized the administration's daily efforts to identify and revoke visas of individuals deemed threats to public order, calling them "lunatics" disrupting campuses.
The U.S. Department of State has revoked more than 300 visas of foreign students accused of disruptive activities.
On March 25, federal immigration authorities detained Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish student near Boston, and revoked her visa. Friends believe her arrest could be linked to a doxxing campaign after she co-authored an opinion piece in Tufts Daily in 2024, calling for Tufts University to acknowledge the "Palestinian genocide," apologize for statements by its president and divest from companies tied to Israel. This case marks the first known immigration-related arrest of a Boston student under Trump's recent enforcement actions.
Speaking at a press conference in Guyana on March 27, Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed that the Trump administration is actively identifying and revoking visas of individuals involved in protests or actions deemed harmful to public order.
"It might be more than 300 at this point. We do it every day. Every time I find one of these lunatics, I take away their visas," Rubio said. "At some point, I hope we run out because we've gotten rid of all of them, but we're looking every day for these lunatics that are tearing things up."
ICE has been arresting foreign students for alleged pro-Hamas involvement
Alireza Doroudi, a mechanical engineering doctoral student at the University of Alabama, was reportedly taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers on March 25 from his home. The reason for his detention remains unclear.
Doroudi, who previously studied metallurgy at Iran's prestigious Amirkabir University of Technology, an institution that admits only the top one percent of students in the country's competitive entrance exams, arrived in the U.S. on a student visa in January 2023.
However, The Crimson White, the university's student newspaper, reported that his visa was revoked just six months later. Despite this, Doroudi had reportedly been assured by university officials that he could legally remain in the U.S. as long as he maintained his student status.
Earlier this month, Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University graduate and permanent U.S. resident, was arrested by ICE in New York without criminal charges and is currently being held in Louisiana. (Related: Columbia University student self-deports following visa revocation over pro-Hamas protests.)
Leqaa Kordia, a Palestinian national from the West Bank, had a similar case. ICE agents arrested her for overstaying her expired student visa. Though her visa was terminated in January 2022 due to lack of attendance, Kordia remained in the U.S. and was ultimately arrested in April 2024 over alleged involvement in pro-Hamas activities at Columbia University.
Meanwhile, Yunseo Chung, a permanent resident and another Columbia student, narrowly avoided deportation after a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order against the government.
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Watch the video below that talks about a pro-Palestinian protest outside the NYC Nova Exhibit.
This video is from the GalacticStorm channel on Brighteon.com.
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