Number of foreign student visas revoked in Colorado more than doubles

The Trump administration has now revoked the visas of at least 22 international students attending major Colorado colleges, more than doubling the number of impacted students first reported last week.

As of Tuesday afternoon, 10 students at Colorado State University in Fort Collins and 12 students across the University of Colorado’s four campuses had their student visas revoked by the federal government amid the Trump administration’s nationwide crackdown on foreign students.

CU and CSU provided updated counts of visa revocations, but neither university has identified the students who lost their visas, said what countries they are from, or revealed whether federal officials provided any explanation.

The Trump administration has targeted students nationwide who had been involved with pro-Palestinian activism or speech, with a few high-profile detentions of students including Mahmoud Khalil, a green card holder who was a leader of protests at Columbia University.

But more U.S. schools are seeing visas stripped from students with no known connection to protests. In some cases, past infractions such as traffic violations have been cited. Some colleges say the reasons remain unclear to them — and they are seeking answers.

The list of American colleges that have discovered students have had their legal status terminated includes Harvard, Stanford, Michigan, UCLA and Ohio State University.

Visas can be canceled for a number of reasons, but college leaders nationwide say the Trump administration has been quietly terminating students’ legal residency status with little notice to students or schools. That marks a shift from past practice and leaves students vulnerable to detention and deportation.

College officials worry the new approach will keep foreigners from wanting to study in the U.S. Some students targeted across the country in recent weeks have had no clear link to political activism. Some have been ordered to leave over misdemeanor crimes or traffic infractions.

Kathleen Fairfax, CSU’s vice provost for international affairs, wrote online that the Fort Collins institution has not been contacted by nor asked to provide student information to the U.S. Department of State or the Department of Homeland Security.

“We are working proactively with the students to help them connect with appropriate legal resources and understand their options,” Fairfax wrote on a CSU webpage providing information to international students. “CSU is providing this support based on students’ personal decisions.”