2 students, 5 recent grads from Carnegie Mellon University have visas revoked

PITTSBURGH — The federal government has revoked the visas of two current students and five recent graduates from Carnegie Mellon University.

Provost James Garrett Jr. and Dean of Students Gina Casalegno sent a letter to the CMU community stating they learned about the revocation late last week.

According to CMU, the seven people also have had their records in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) terminated.

“If you terminate the visa itself, they wouldn’t be able to enter again, but they can stay and take classes. If you terminate the SEVIS, they are out of status. They have to go home,” Pittsburgh-based immigration lawyer Joseph Murphy said. “There’s any number of reasons. We’ve been seeing a rash of student visas revoked for petty crimes, DUI, disorderly conduct. We’ve also seen people who are involved in political activity.”

The letter stated, “These incidents understandably raise wider concerns for many in our community, and we take seriously our continued responsibility to ensure that our community is equipped with the information they need to navigate these uncertain times.”

The university didn’t say why the students’ visas were revoked.

“We understand the sensitivity of this matter and are committed to safeguarding their privacy, which limits the information we can share publicly. At this time, we are not aware of any recent presence of immigration authorities on our campus,” the letter said.

The action is part of the Trump administration’s broader immigration and deportation strategy.

Channel 11 reached out to a number of local lawmakers. Congresswoman Summer Lee’s Office did get back to us saying, they are in contact with one of the students and “it is deeply concerning that universities in Western Pennsylvania and nationwide are being targeted.”

Murphy is advising international students to keep in contact with legal resources, pay attention to current events and stay out of trouble.

Visas can be canceled for a number of reasons, but college leaders say the government has been quietly terminating students’ legal residency status with little notice to students or schools, according to the Associated Press. That marks a shift from past practice and leaves students vulnerable to detention and deportation.

The Trump administration has targeted students who had been involved with pro-Palestinian activism or speech. But the AP reports that more schools are seeing visas stripped from students with no known connection to protests. In some cases, past infractions such as traffic violations have been cited. Some colleges say the reasons remain unclear to them — and they are seeking answers.

Last week, CMU said it was one of six universities to receive a letter from the House Selected Committee on the Chinese Communist Party. According to the university, the letter asked for details on international students, insights into their policies and practices related to participation of these students in research and information about collaborations among the university and China-based universities and research institutions. At the time, the university said it was still reviewing the letter. It’s unknown if this letter is related to the student’s visas being revoked.

CMU has reached out to the students impacted to offer support, including legal resources to assist them.

“It’s a stressful time for everyone and it’s a confusing time,” CMU Senior Camden Johnson said. “A lot of the people that are in my lab are international students and I worry that they are feeling stressed and under more pressure.”

The university also shared guidance and resources on travel and immigration topics. It will also hold an Open Forum on Immigration Policies on April 21, in addition to in-person one-on-one consultations.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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