🛂📉 SEVIS Terminations Hit 53 More International Students at Texas Universities
🇺🇸🛑 15 Texas A&M International Students Quietly Lose Legal Status in U.S. 🏙️🧾 NYC Lets ICE Set Up Office at Rikers Island Jail in Support of Trump’s Immigration Crackdown
🛂📉 SEVIS Terminations Hit 53 More International Students at Texas Universities
Ayden Runnels, The Texas Tribune.– A growing crackdown on international students has now affected 53 students at four more Texas universities, pushing the statewide total to at least 68 whose immigration status has been terminated or visas revoked since early April.
The University of North Texas reported the highest number with 27 students removed from the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), followed by 19 at the University of Texas at Dallas, three at Texas Tech, and four at Texas Women’s University.
Unlike visa revocations, SEVIS terminations immediately strip legal status, disrupt employment eligibility, and place dependents at risk of deportation. Immigration lawyers say the process offers no due process, as students are given no details or chance to respond.
The Department of Homeland Security confirmed that it has begun screening international students’ social media for “antisemitic” content, citing new Trump administration executive orders aimed at curbing pro-Palestinian activism. Several affected campuses were sites of such protests.
UTD and UNT officials say they are supporting students through the process. Most of those impacted at UNT are graduate students, a notable blow to its international enrollment of over 8,000.
Legal options are limited and complicated. Students can self deport, apply for reinstatement, or possibly challenge the action in court, though appeals are complex under current policies.
“This is more than revoking visas,” said attorney Robert Hoffman. “It’s about proactively forcing students out of the country without due process.”
The wave of SEVIS removals has stirred confusion and fear among students and raised broader concerns about free expression, surveillance, and the weaponization of immigration policy on campus.
🇺🇸🛑 15 Texas A&M International Students Quietly Lose Legal Status in U.S.
Jessica Priest, The Texas Tribune.– Fifteen international students at Texas A&M University have had their immigration status quietly terminated in a federal database, effectively stripping them of the ability to legally remain in the United States. The reasons remain unclear.
The revocations were discovered in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), the Department of Homeland Security’s tracking system for foreign students. Texas A&M officials say none of the students were known to have committed dangerous offenses, and most were graduate-level students from the flagship and Galveston campuses.
At least one student has already left the country. Ten of the affected are currently enrolled, while three have graduated.
These terminations mean the students can no longer work or re-enter the U.S., and could soon be subject to ICE investigations or deportation if they don’t voluntarily depart or seek reinstatement.
Nationwide, more than 300 student visas have been revoked in the past three weeks, reportedly tied to the Trump administration’s targeting of pro-Palestinian campus activism — though some affected students had no known links to protests.
Legal experts warn the recent actions lack due process, with no prior warning or opportunity for appeal. “Some of the best and brightest students may go elsewhere,” said immigration attorney Faye Kolly, citing the growing uncertainty.
Texas A&M had over 6,000 international students in fall 2024, from more than 130 countries. The sudden revocations risk chilling international enrollment at U.S. institutions, once considered safe havens for global academic talent.
🏙️🧾 NYC Lets ICE Set Up Office at Rikers Island Jail in Support of Trump’s Immigration Crackdown
Philip Marcelo, Associated Press.– Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) now has a new office inside New York City’s notorious Rikers Island jail, following a Tuesday executive order by Mayor Eric Adams’ administration that critics are calling a troubling alignment with President Trump’s immigration agenda.
The new arrangement allows ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) unit to work inside Rikers with city correction officials on gang and drug-related investigations, not general immigration enforcement, Adams said. Other federal agencies, including the FBI, DEA, ATF, and the Postal Inspection Service, are also now authorized to have offices at the jail.
Adams insists the order complies with New York’s 2014 sanctuary law, which banned civil immigration enforcement by ICE in city jails. “We cannot collaborate with ICE on civil enforcement, but we can for criminal enforcement,” Adams said.
Still, the move has sparked fierce backlash. Advocates and political opponents say the timing is suspicious, especially after federal prosecutors recently dropped corruption charges against Adams. City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams (no relation) called it “highly troubling” and accused the mayor of collaborating with Trump’s “extreme deportation agenda.”
Immigrant rights groups warn the new ICE presence could undermine due process, erode public trust, and chill cooperation with law enforcement from immigrant communities.
The New York Civil Liberties Union denounced the move as “a needless concession” and warned of potential unlawful collusion with federal immigration enforcement.
The mayor denies any political quid pro quo, saying the move is about public safety, not politics. But legal advocates remain concerned, saying noncitizens could now be funneled into deportation proceedings from within the city jail system.