Multiple Harvard Students and Alumni Have Student Visas Abruptly Revoked—Here’s What We Know
In a troubling development sending ripples through academic communities nationwide, Harvard University confirmed Sunday that three current students and two recent graduates have had their student visas revoked—part of what appears to be a broader pattern affecting international scholars across multiple institutions.
According to CBS Boston, Harvard officials discovered the revocations during a routine records review, immediately notifying affected students and connecting them with legal assistance. Notably, the university received no direct notification from immigration authorities about these status changes.
“We are not aware of the details of the revocations or the reasons for them,” Harvard stated, adding that “comparable numbers of students and scholars in institutions across the country have experienced similar status changes in roughly the same timeframe.”
Indeed, the pattern extends beyond Cambridge. Northeastern University reported several of its students and recent graduates had visas revoked by the State Department, while UMass Amherst confirmed five international students faced similar actions last week—also without formal notification to the institution.
This wave of enforcement follows Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s statement last month that approximately 300 student visas had been revoked nationwide, with claims that many affected students had participated in campus protests.
Perhaps most alarming is the case of Tufts University graduate student Rumeysa Ozturk, who was taken into custody by ICE officers outside her Somerville apartment. The State Department revoked her visa, alleging involvement in activities supporting Hamas—a claim her attorneys firmly deny. Ozturk had co-authored a March 2024 op-ed urging Tufts to acknowledge the Palestinian genocide, though Tufts President Sunil Kumar stated the publication violated no school policies.
After detention, Ozturk was transported from Massachusetts to New Hampshire, then Vermont, before being flown to Louisiana. A federal judge has since ordered her case transferred back to Vermont.
These enforcement actions raise profound questions about the boundaries between legitimate immigration enforcement and potential encroachment on academic freedom. For countless international students now wondering if their visa status might suddenly change based on their academic work or campus involvement, the uncertainty creates a chilling effect on the open exchange of ideas that universities have long considered sacred.
With universities scrambling to support affected students and provide legal resources, the coming weeks will likely determine whether these cases represent isolated incidents or signal a systematic shift in how international scholars are treated in American academic institutions.
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