By Cole Gee | Staff Writer
As of April 9, three Baylor students have had their record in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System database terminated and their student visas revoked.
The notice comes on the heels of a travel advisory Baylor International Student and Scholar Services sent to international students last month warning of difficulties reentering the U.S. if students with visas choose to go home over the summer.
The three Baylor students are not an anomaly. Texas A&M reports 23 students have had their visas affected. Rice University has three current and two former student visas revoked. University of Texas San Antonio currently has seven students affected, and the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley reported that nine students have been affected as well.
UTRGV student Cesario Silva spoke to ValleyCentral News regarding the visa terminations of fellow UTRGV students, and he expressed worry for his international student friends.
“A lot of student athletes are foreign exchange,” Silva said. “I have friends who are in the soccer team and in the tennis team that are not from the United States, so it would be horrible to see them that one day disappear out of nowhere without knowing why.”
SEVIS by the Numbers reports that there are currently 1.5 million international students in the U.S. right now, and they all may be affected by the visa shakeup. The educational data company, Inside Higher Ed, reports that 1,179 students across the country have had their visa status revoked this year.
In response, international students have begun to file lawsuits against the federal government for their visa terminations, arguing the government lacked sufficient justification to do so.
ACLU of Michigan attorneys wrote in a lawsuit following the termination of University of Michigan and Wayne State University students, “The timing and uniformity of these terminations leave little question that DHS has adopted a nationwide policy, whether written or not, of mass termination of student (legal) status.”
Universities are not notified in advance of visa terminations or a change in immigration status, according to Baylor spokesperson Lori Fogleman.
“As of Wednesday, Baylor University is aware of three students who have had their student immigration status terminated in the government database known as SEVIS — an evolving situation that is affecting colleges and universities across the country and deeply concerning to our campus community,” Fogleman said in a statement to The Lariat. “Baylor’s ISSS learned of these terminations during a routine records review, as neither universities nor students receive advanced notification of a change in status. The university has no authority to reverse these terminations. Baylor cannot disclose the identity of the students involved as we are committed to protecting student privacy.”
The university encourages international students worried about their status to contact the ISSS at 254-710-1461 or ISSS_Support@baylor.edu, as well as to actively check and monitor their email accounts for any updates regarding their status.
“Baylor continues to support higher education organizations, such as the American Council on Education (ACE), that are advocating for academic communities on immigration issues, and we remain strongly committed to fostering a caring Christian community that includes and supports international students and scholars,” Fogleman said.
