Revocation of student visas raise concerns in North Carolina

UNC CHARLOTTE

Six UNC Charlotte students have lost their visa credentials after the U.S. State Department revoked their access to remain in the country. Twenty international students at North Carolina colleges have lost their visas, with UNCC and UNC-Chapel Hill each losing six.

Twenty students at North Carolina colleges have had their visas terminated.

The students were pursuing multiple levels of degrees at Duke, Appalachian State and North Carolina State universities as well as UNC Chapel Hill, UNC Charlotte as UNC Greensboro. UNCC and UNC-Chapel Hill had the most revocations with six each.

In a release, NCSU said they “are deeply concerned about the lack of communication from federal agencies and the impact of these actions on our international students.” UNCC’s Office of International Programs’ website says that  “in many recent cases, no advance notice or explanation has been provided to the student or the institution. The reasons for these terminations are not yet clear, and campuses are continuing to monitor their SEVIS records and follow developments closely.” 

Last week, the Department of Homeland Security announced that agents are monitoring the social media accounts of migrants applying for legal status in the United States to screen for instances of “antisemitism.”

This is the first screening of its kind – immigrants have never before been screened for instances of misogyny, racism, homophobia, ableism, or other forms of bigotry.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio alleged that students sought entrance into the U.S. “not just to study but to participate in movements that vandalize universities, harass students, take over buildings and cause chaos.”

“What we have seen on campuses across the country where students literally cannot go to school, you cannot – buildings are being taken over, activities going on – this is clearly an organized movement.  And if you are in this country on a student visa and are a participant in those movements, we have a right to deny your visa,” Rubio said.  “We are not going to be importing activists into the United States. They’re here to study.  They’re here to go to class.  They’re not here to lead activist movements that are disruptive and undermine our universities.”

High-profile cases like the deportation of Columbia graduate student and green card holder Mahmoud Khalil have relied on allegations of antisemitic commentary. Student demonstrations calling for colleges to cease all financial and academic ties to Israel, which is prosecuting military activity in Gaza, have been consistent and met with police violence, drawing criticisms and questions about academic freedom and first-amendment freedoms. 

ACLU North Carolina said in a media release the revocations “pose a significant threat to the state’s educational integrity and diversity.”

The Revolutionary Student Front at UNCC, an independent student-activist organization, released a statement they are “completely terrified” because of the vagueness of the government’s explanation of visa terminations for two students – one Nigerian and one Indian.  

“We are disgusted and ashamed by our university’s administration to not only allow I.C.E to target and terrorize our students accused of ‘otherwise failing to maintain status’ and, even more horrifying, ‘other,’” the group wrote. 

The Revolutionary Student Front is “an independent revolutionary organization dedicated to fighting against fascism and bigotry while organizing and mobilizing students and workers for better conditions on campus.”

The Charlotte Observer and Niner Times, the campus newspaper, reported that “other” was a specific reason given to UNCC administrators for the terminations.

“The most popular theory is political affiliation and pro-Palestine support,” the group wrote in an Instagram message.

North Carolina lawmakers have passed a bill that bans diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and curriculum in public education; specifying abstinence from “divisive topics.” The UNC system has also defunded DEI programs. The RSF also demands UNCC “revoke its previous ruling of I.C.E collaboration by declaring UNC-Charlotte a sanctuary campus.”

The Revolutionary Student Union is an organization of students at colleges and universities across the U.S. and Canada. Its “About” page states its mission of “the emancipation of students” and “the necessity of aligning the student struggle with the working class movement.”

“The formula is quite simple. The executive government, which many universities rely upon for funding, have threatened to withhold this funding in exchange for favorable political concessions,” reads an article on their blog. “Across the country, this is manifesting in an attack on working class, nationally oppressed, and progressive students and youth at these Universities and in the surrounding areas.”

“These mark a turning point in the safety of our fellow students. This is an attempt to silence the students, and we believe that this administration will go further to quiet any criticism vocalized by the people of this nation,” the Revolutionary Book Club at Western Carolina University wrote in a statement. “The deportations will not stop just at students and visa holders but will come for any citizen that speaks ill of Trump and his dangerous policies.”

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