Why in News?

The Trump administration has targeted visas of individuals suspected of participating in campus protests or even loosely associated with supporting human rights in Gaza.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• U.S. Policy on Student Visas: Recent Changes and Crackdown
• Monitoring of Foreign Student Enrolment in the U.S.
• Challenges to the U.S. Visa Revocation Policy

U.S. Policy on Student Visas: Recent Changes and Crackdown

• Visa Is a Privilege, Not a Right
  • U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio emphasized that holding a student visa is not a right.
  • He justified visa revocations by citing campus disruptions and claimed that student participation in such organised protest movements can warrant visa denial.
• Legal Basis for Revocation
  • Under the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, the Secretary of State has the authority to revoke visas of foreign nationals deemed a threat to public order or national interests.
• Scrutiny of New Visa Applicants
  • U.S. immigration officials have begun closely examining new F (academic), J (exchange), and M (vocational) visa applications.
  • With this, it aims to refuse visas to individuals linked to protest movements, especially those seen as anti-Semitic.
• ‘Catch and Revoke’ Programme
  • Initiated under Trump’s second term, this programme led to over 300 student visas being revoked.
  • Indian students are reportedly among those affected.
  • The programme is linked to an executive order signed in January to counter anti-Semitism on campuses.
  • Visa revocations are partly based on AI-assisted reviews of students’ social media activity.
• Pressure on Universities
  • The Trump administration has also cut federal funding to prominent universities like Columbia, UPenn, and Johns Hopkins.
  • This is part of its broader crackdown, signalling tough measures against institutions perceived to tolerate such movements.

Monitoring of Foreign Student Enrolment in the U.S.

• Rapid Growth in International Student Numbers
  • International student enrolment in U.S. colleges has grown significantly — from 26,000 in 1949-50 to nearly 1.1 million in 2019-20.
  • Their share in total higher education enrolment rose from 1% to almost 6% during the same period, according to the Migration Policy Institute.
• Post-9/11 Reforms: Creation of SEVIS
  • In response to security concerns after it was discovered that a 9/11 hijacker entered on a student visa but never attended classes, the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) was established in 2003.
  • SEVIS enables the U.S. government to:
    • Track all foreign students and exchange visitors
    • Require schools to submit and update student data in a central system
    • Revoke visas and initiate deportation for students who fail to attend classes
• Expanding List of Affected Universities
  • As visa revocations rise, several prominent universities have been impacted, including:
    • Arizona State University
    • Georgetown University
    • University of Minnesota
    • Cornell University, among others.
  • The list continues to grow as stricter enforcement is applied.

Challenges to the U.S. Visa Revocation Policy

• Limited Legal Remedies for Foreigners
  • The current enforcement actions target foreign nationals, not U.S. citizens.
  • This complicates the availability of legal recourse, as visa holders have fewer constitutional protections.
• Concerns Raised by Civil Rights Groups
  • The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) urged universities to resist federal pressure, including government surveillance and threats to international students and faculty.
  • They emphasized that campus protests fall under protected free speech and assembly as per the First Amendment.
• Legal Pushback from Academic Associations
  • Groups like the American Association of University Professors and the Middle East Studies Association have filed lawsuits against the Trump administration.
  • They argue that:
    • Targeting students for their political views is unconstitutional
    • It undermines academic freedom and institutional autonomy
• Uncertain Legal Outcome
  • Despite the opposition, experts indicate that the visa revocation policy may persist unless successfully challenged in court.