Graphic courtesy of The Round Up.

On April 7, Lakshmi N. Reddi, Interim Provost and Chief Academic Officer at New Mexico State University, sent an email to the campus community stating the university is aware of three international students who have had their visas revoked. Currently, the students’ names have not been released. Universities around the U.S. are experiencing this; The New York Times reported that at least 147 international students in the U.S. have had their visas revoked recently. 

Reddi said the NMSU administration is “closely monitoring the situation” and would let students know of any changes to federal policies regarding F and J visas. F-1 visas are given to full-time students, while J-1 visas are given to students in exchange programs. 

Reddi also informed students of NMSU President Ferme’s newly created task force to include student and faculty representation in decisions relating to the recent executive orders.  

He advised international students to keep themselves safe by reviewing and updating their travel documents. Some other practical steps he listed include keeping the contact information of International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) staff, maintaining full-time student status, and obtaining authorization before applying for internships or traveling. If international students have concerns, Reddi encouraged them to contact ISSS at [email protected]. 

The revocations come 30 days after Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), despite having legal permanent residence through a green card. The Department of Homeland Security has accused Khalil of leading “activities aligned to Hamas, a designated terrorist organization.” Khalil was involved in pro-Palestine protests at Columbia University last year. Rumeysa Ozturk, an international graduate student at Tufts University, was apprehended by ICE on March 25, after her visa was revoked on March 21 for participating in pro-Palestinian activism. 

On January 29, U.S. President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 14188 to “combat antisemitism,” especially on college campuses. In a fact sheet published on the White House website, Trump promised to “quickly cancel the student visas of all Hamas sympathizers.”  

Although some international students from other universities who have had their visas revoked were involved in pro-Palestine protests, others didn’t have any connection to them.  

Reddi encouraged the NMSU community to not let these revocations divide us, but rather unite us around shared values. 

“During this time, it is important for each of us to uphold our core Aggie values of courage, empathy, gratitude, inclusivity, kindness, and respect to support one another, and cherish the accomplishments of our talented faculty, staff, and students,” Reddi said. 

This is a developing story. The Round Up will provide updates as they become available.