Trump administration revokes visas for 4 UC Berkeley students and 2 recent graduates

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Sather Tower, aka the Campanile, as seen in March 2022. Credit: Kelly Sullivan

The Trump administration has revoked the visas of dozens of current and former University of California students across several campuses, campus officials said over the weekend.

Four of the students were current undergraduate and graduate students at UC Berkeley and two more were recent graduates of Cal.

It was not revealed immediately why those students were targeted, but international students in other states faced deportation because of their participation in pro-Palestinian protests or for criminal infractions, sometimes just traffic violations, according to The Associated Press. Last week, colleges across the country began noticing international students were having their visas revoked.

“The University of California is aware that international students across several of our campuses have been impacted” by the immigration enforcement action, the university said in a statement. “This is a fluid situation, and we continue to monitor and assess its implications for the UC community and the people affected. We are committed to doing what we can to support all members of our community as they exercise their rights under the law.”

Six current students and six recent graduates at UCLA were among those who had their visas revoked, Chancellor Julio Frenk said in a message to the campus. He said termination notices indicated that “all terminations were due to violations of the terms of the individuals’ visa programs.”

At UC San Diego, five students had their F-1 visas terminated, Chancellor Pradeep Khosla said in an email to campus community members. He added that last week, another student “was detained at the border, denied entry and deported to their home country.”

Seven students and five recent graduates at UC Davis also had their F-1 visas revoked, said Chancellor Gary May in a message to the campus community. He added that federal agents had not entered the campus and no students were placed in custody.

Visas were also terminated for three students at UC Santa Cruz.

“We recognize that recent federal immigration actions, whether locally, within the UC system, or across the country, may cause fear and grave concern for many in our campus community. We reiterate our strong support for all international students and scholars,” UC Santa Cruz Chancellor Cynthia Larive said in a message to the campus.