Donald Trump: Disappointment as Dozens of US Students’ Visas Suddenly Revoked
- Nearly 40 students reported cancelled visas over minor infractions as President Donald Trump intensifies crackdown on universities in the United States (US)
- Legit.ng gathered that students from 50 universities reported their visas were cancelled around Friday, April 5, 2025
- Many people noted that they had prior records, some limited to citations or non-criminal offences
Legit.ng journalist Ridwan Adeola Yusuf has over 9 years of experience covering global affairs.
Washington, USA - The United States (US) continues to revoke student visas, forcing international students to leave America as soon as possible.
Many incidents have been recorded in American universities in which international students’ F-1 study visas have been cancelled.
Source: Getty Images
Videos of some of the arrests, showing plain-clothes officers handcuffing and arresting students near their homes, have gone viral on social media and sent shockwaves through the international student community.
As reported recently by The Guardian UK, students of Northeastern universities are facing the heat.
According to Renata Nyul, Northeastern vice president for Communications, the State Department has cancelled 40 visas for people linked with the university as of April 7, as reported by The Huntington News.
Financial Express also noted the development.
The Department of State and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) initiated a national effort to revoke visas and terminate the legal status of international students who have allegedly engaged in criminal behavior while in the U.S.
Why has Trump revoked international student visas?
A Turkish citizen and University of Minnesota student was detained in March after his visa was revoked for a prior drunk driving infraction, according to CBS News.
Other reports show students have had their visas revoked after they were found to have prior speeding tickets, the BBC noted.
The White House has defended its actions using a provision of a 1952 law that grants the secretary of state broad authority to expel foreigners believed to pose "potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences" for the US.
US: What to know about student visa cancellations
The big picture is that the Donald Trump administration has moved beyond penalising international students over pro-Palestinian activism and stripped scores of students' visas without explanation. This is according to university officials and attorneys.
A student at Emerson College and a doctoral candidate at Dartmouth College who never partook in protests or had any criminal record were among those stripped of their visas.
More context on the development can be obtained from the TRT World's video report below:
Source: Facebook
It had been earlier established that an estimated one million international students generate more than $40 billion for American higher education each year, per a 2024 article by The World. If the widespread student visa revocations continue, universities that rely on high tuition fees from international students could suffer financially, according to Axios.
Read more on Donald Trump and the US:
- Trump: Immigration experts react as US revokes visas of African country
- Mass deportation: US cancels all visas of an entire African country, announces reason behind it
Protest erupts in US
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that millions of people joined coordinated protests across all 50 US states and in cities worldwide recently as part of the “Hands Off!” movement, a mass mobilisation against what organisers called a “hostile takeover” by Trump and Elon Musk.
More than 1,400 demonstrations were held at key government sites — including state capitols, federal buildings, congressional offices, and city halls — with organisers demanding “an end to this billionaire power grab”.
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Proofreading by Kola Muhammed, copy editor at Legit.ng.
Source: Legit.ng
Ridwan Adeola (Current Affairs Editor) Ridwan Adeola Yusuf is a content creator with more than nine years of experience, He is also a Current Affairs Editor at Legit.ng. He holds a Higher National Diploma in Mass Communication from the Polytechnic Ibadan, Oyo State (2014). Ridwan previously worked at Africa Check, contributing to fact-checking research works within the organisation. He is an active member of the Academic Excellence Initiative (AEI). In March 2024, Ridwan completed the full Google News Initiative Lab workshop and his effort was recognised with a Certificate of Completion. Email: ridwan.adeola@corp.legit.ng.
Kola Muhammed (Copyeditor) Kola Muhammed is an experienced editor and content strategist who has overseen content and public relations strategies for some of the biggest (media) brands in Sub-Saharan Africa. He has over 5 years of experience in copyediting.
