Seven current or recent students at Carnegie Mellon University have had their student visas revoked by the Trump administration, following a trend of similar moves affecting dozens, if not hundreds, of students across the country.
Late Monday, CMU Provost James H. Garrett Jr. sent a letter to employees and students on campus, alerting them to news of the visa revocations.
“These incidents understandably raise wider concerns for many in our community, and we take seriously our continued responsibility to ensure that our community is equipped with the information they need to navigate these uncertain times,” he wrote.
A CMU spokesperson said they would not comment beyond Garrett’s letter.
However, local immigration attorneys said that they are aware of student visa revocations happening at the University of Pittsburgh, as well.
“It’s an extension of the unconstitutional targeting of people with visas based on flimsy allegations,” said Kristen Schneck, an immigration lawyer and chair of the Pittsburgh chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. “The Department of State is being extremely unnecessarily aggressive.”
Some affected students have filed federal lawsuits against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, including a complaint filed on Monday in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh.
According to local immigration attorneys, the students who are being targeted may have been arrested in the past and convicted for minor charges, or may have been arrested but later had their charges completely withdrawn.
Joseph Murphy, an immigration attorney in Pittsburgh, said he’d heard reports in the past 24 hours about affected students who’d been charged with theft, DUI and disorderly conduct.
The federal government is terminating the students’ records in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System.
The program, Murphy said, tracks international students and their educational status. If they are terminated in the program, he said, universities may no longer legally enroll the students.
“It’s kind of sinister,” Murphy said. “By terminating the SEVIS, they’re forcing the schools to kick out the students.
“It’s wickedly smart.”
Murphy said that student visa status, in the past, was not typically impacted by minor, summary-level offenses. Up until three months ago, a student with that type of charge or conviction, would typically leave a courthouse with a fine and then go on with their schooling.
Student visas typically last for the duration of study, Murphy said, and can also extend to optional practical training or post-graduate work.
But if SEVIS is terminated, he continued, “it becomes impossible to comply with visa requirements.”
At CMU, the university is offering an open forum with Klasko Immigration Law Partners on April 21 for students to obtain in-person guidance.
The provost’s letter also suggests that international students strongly consider international travel plans “given the current complexities and uncertainties of the immigration environment.”
In Pittsburgh on Monday an attorney filed a lawsuit on behalf of a student who learned Friday that their SEVIS record had been terminated, ending their visa status.
According to the complaint, which was filed against Homeland Security, the student believes their status was terminated based on a criminal records check.
While the student was never convicted of a crime, they had been previously charged with disorderly conduct and public drunkenness. They were detained for less than a day, and the charges were later completely withdrawn, and the student’s record was expunged.
A records search with the state police shows no criminal record, the complaint said.
Nonetheless, the lawsuit said, the student’s SEVIS record was terminated.
The lawsuit, which seeks class-action status for all students in a similar situation, alleges that the student was not given an opportunity to be heard as required under the Administration Procedure Act.
It is seeking a preliminary and permanent injunction that would reinstate the student’s SEVIS record.
The lawsuit identifies the student only by initials, does not name the school the student attends or what country they are from.
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The National Immigration Project filed similar lawsuits in federal court in California over the weekend.
“These are not isolated cases,” said Khaled Alrabe, a staff attorney at the project.
“We are witnessing a disturbing trend where international students across the nation are losing their status abruptly and without legal justification. (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcment) is unlawfully using student status terminations to coerce students to give up their studies and leave the country without any meaningful process or opportunity to challenge what’s happening.”
Murphy said he has started to see clients choose self-deportation for fear of being arrested by ICE agents.
“The plan, I think is to create an environment of fear,” Murphy said. “It appears to be working. It’s getting in the minds of the migrants. Like it or not, the people of the United States voted for this.”