'Handful' of U of A students had visas revoked, faculty chair has heard

The University of Arizona’s faculty chair said individuals in faculty governance have heard “a handful” of UA international students had their student visas revoked recently, mainly for traffic violations, and that a number self-deported as a result.

“The cases that we’ve heard about come from student reports and they cannot be confirmed,” Chair of the Faculty Leila Hudson told the Faculty Senate. “The university is exercising the highest degree of confidentiality and discretion under FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) and so again, this is me reporting what we think we know.”

While universities including Arizona State University have released numbers on how many of their international students have had their visas revoked under the new Trump administration, the UA has declined to do so, citing “privacy issues.”

Under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, or FERPA, schools are generally prohibited from disclosing a student’s name, Social Security number and other indirect identifiers such as date of birth. The Arizona Daily Star asked UA administration simply for a number on how many students have had their visas revoked, not for any personal details listed under FERPA, but the UA leadership team has made a “university decision” to not disclose the information, UA spokesperson Mitch Zak and Vice President of Communications Steve Voeller have said.

Hudson told faculty senators, “We have heard of a handful of students — a fraction of the number that you might hear about from ASU — who have had their student visas revoked. The majority of the cases that I have heard about have already, to use the euphemism, ‘self-deported.’ The majority of students that I have heard about have secured legal counsel on their own, not through the offices of the university.”

Hudson also gave information on how the students were informed of these visa revocations, saying the notices came in the form of emails to the email addresses the students used to apply for their visas, and which now may be “old or inactive.”

“Some of these revocations appear to be visible to the university through the SEVIS (Student and Exchange Visitor Information System),” Hudson said, speaking at the Faculty Senate’s April 7 meeting.

“Our students seem to have had their visas revoked for traffic violations — the majority of them come from traffic violations, moving or non-moving. Once notified of visa revocation, legal status is withdrawn. Students with legal representation may choose to file in federal courts and/or to self-deport, as majority of the cases that we’ve heard about seem to do,” she said.

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Hudson said faculty leaders have not seen any Immigration and Customs Enforcement or ICE raids on the UA campus and couldn’t confirm any students are in detention despite rumors. The UA’s chief safety officer, Steve Patterson, said previously that UA officials were not aware of any federal law enforcement activity involving students, faculty or staff on campus.

“Anyone with concerns about suspicious or criminal activity should contact the University of Arizona Police Department, while students experiencing stress or facing difficult circumstances are encouraged to reach out to the Dean of Students Office for support,” Patterson has said. “We care deeply about the safety and wellbeing of our campus community.”

Zak previously said the UA would not disclose any visa revocation numbers “out of respect for our students and their privacy.” The UA doesn’t see a benefit to its students or international scholars in “confirming one way or the other whether or not we have had student visas revoked,” he has said. “We feel like that’s personal to them … (and) this is a very high-visibility issue. It’s creating a lot of consternation across the country.”

Hudson said international students bring in approximately $90 million a year to the UA, which has more than 7,200 of them on the Tucson campus and on its micro-campuses abroad.

Zak recently said the latest annual numbers show the UA received $68 million in net tuition revenue from international students, citing data from UA’s Chief Financial Officer John Arnold.

At ASU, around 50 students have had visas revoked by the Trump administration for unclear reasons, The Arizona Republic reports. ASU officials have said the visa revocations are not tied to activism or protests.

ASU students affected also had their status in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System database removed, making them vulnerable to deportation, detention and arrest by federal immigration authorities, the Arizona Daily Star previously reported.

At least one ASU international student returned to their home country after their visa was revoked, The Republic reported Saturday. Immigration attorney Taylor Renfro told the newspaper her client chose to return several days after learning their visa was revoked.