TEMPE, AZ — More than 100 students at Arizona State University and a handful at the University of Arizona have had their visas revoked.
The new number of revocations is according to United Campus Workers of Arizona president Michael Kintscher, who told Scripps News Group those numbers are expected to rise.
"We’ve been able to confirm a little over 100 students have their visas revoked at ASU specifically, although we believe the number is much higher, that's just what we've been able to confirm so far,” Kintscher said. "There was a letter that was sent out to all of the faculty at U of A, I believe it was yesterday that put to their number at close to a dozen that they have confirmed. And we've heard reports of visa revocation at NAU, but we've not been able to confirm that yet.”
Scripps News Group obtained a copy of the Faculty Senate letter at the U of A, which said fewer than 10 students have had their visas revoked, but that number is expected to increase. The letter also noted many of those students had already left the country or self-deported.
However, when asked to confirm the number of revocations and the number of students who had self-deported, the U of A said in a statement, “The university continues to respect the privacy of our international students, faculty, and scholars, and emphasizes the importance of relying on verified information.”
The statement went on to say, "We encourage international students and scholars to contact us with any questions, as university staff are available to support their success and compliance."
Congressman Greg Stanton told Scripps News Group his office is looking into some of the cases where students had their visas revoked and underscored the need to create an environment that is inviting for international students.
"Our universities are one of the great secret sauces for the American economic success story, in part, it's the reason why students around the globe want to come to American universities. We can’t lose that. It would be to our huge economic detriment if we lose that reputation,” Stanton said.
A spokesperson for ASU declined to confirm the number of students who had lost their visa, but said "Federal authorities have revoked visas for some students,” and that “none of ASU’s more than 17,000 international students have been deported.”
The statement went on to say the university is "committed to fully supporting all affected international students in completing their degree programs.”
