Visa holders at UCLA expressed concern following the Trump administration’s decision to halt Harvard University’s enrollment of international students.
This decision was the latest in the ongoing battle between President Donald Trump and Harvard, which began after the Trump administration accused the university of allowing antisemitism and withheld over $2 billion in Harvard’s federal funding. International students make up roughly 27% of Harvard’s student body, according to CBS News.
A federal judge temporarily blocked Trump’s halting of Harvard’s ability to admit international students May 29, according to NBC News.
The Trump administration previously revoked visas from at least 1,800 international students, according to Insider Higher Ed. At least 19 UCLA students and alumni had their visas revoked as of April 10.
The administration announced April 25 that it would reverse the revocations while it developed a consistent “framework” for revocation. However, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said May 28 on the social media platform X that the State Department is planning on a sweeping termination of the visas of Chinese students in the United States.
A second-year international student studying psychobiology, who was granted anonymity because of fear of retaliation from the federal government, said she was concerned about UCLA facing retribution from the Trump administration because of pro-Palestine protests on campus.
The student added that the unknown fate of international students at universities like UCLA is a major source of fear for her.
“You don’t know what’s going on, and it’s back and forth,” she said. “’Now they can go to school,’ ‘Now they can’t go to school.’ There’s never a final answer and no one really knows what’s going on, so I think the uncertainty makes it really scary.”
An April 16 letter by Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem threatened to block Harvard from enrolling international students if the university failed to disclose information about visa-holding students deemed “dangerous” in said notice.
A May 22 letter by Noem added that current international students on F-1 or J-1 visas – which are used by international students at U.S. institutions and have no and immediate return requirements before their expiration, respectively – are required to transfer colleges to keep their visa-based residency.
A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order May 29 in response to a lawsuit filed by Harvard against the federal government, allowing the university to enroll international students for the time being.
[Related: Trump administration revokes visas of multiple UCLA, UC students]
Trump, in a Wednesday attempt to work around the federal judge’s obstruction, said he would stop Harvard’s international students from reentering the country, ostensibly after summer break, according to The New York Times. He also suggested that there be a cap on the amount of visa holders able to attend the university.
The student said she believes it is important for universities to have students who come from different backgrounds and countries. She added that the way international students think and have been taught is different, which is beneficial to universities.
International students comprise 7.7% of UCLA’s undergraduate student population, according to the UCLA website.
The student added that she does not recall receiving information from UCLA on the matter, but that having discussions with her sorority about the Trump administration’s recent actions made her feel heard as an international student. She said her sorority has been a support group she could go to for comfort and guidance.
Another second-year international student studying applied mathematics, who was also granted anonymity because of fear of retaliation from the federal government, said the recent decisions feel unsettling and erratic.
“I haven’t heard of presidents coming at academic institutions quite so hard in a democratic country before,” they said. “It’s a bit scary, because I feel like the government right now is very unpredictable.”
Syed Tamim Ahmad, the 2024-2025 Undergraduate Students Association Council international student representative, said he was shocked at Trump’s decision to revoke Harvard’s capacity to enroll international students. He added that he believes the government’s variable behavior breeds uncertainty.
“It may happen to UCLA, it may not happen to UCLA,” Ahmad said. “At this point, I don’t know. … The political atmosphere is very unpredictable.”
The applied mathematics student said while they have received some emails from the UCLA Dashew Center for International Students and Scholars, they feel they do not have a person to go to directly with questions or concerns.
“My status here is still intact, but I think that if something were to happen I would scramble a little bit with finding a person to help,” they said.
The student also said studying in the U.S. has brought them many unique educational opportunities – including openness and diversity in their classes – that they otherwise would not have had in their home country. They said they loved how U.S. schools allow students to take a range of classes in multiple subjects and discover new interests.
Ahmad added that he believes international students contribute critical insights and produce work that benefits the entire country.
“International students bring a lot of talent as well as expertise from their own international and global perspective here to the United States,” Ahmad said.
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