International Students Visa Concerns
Immigration is a big worry in the United States these days. Because of this, universities are making sure to tell their students they’re here for them. International students and others who are affected by the Trump administration’s recent actions are especially concerned. On college campuses, people are increasingly worried about being harassed, hearing false information, and not being sure about their visas, so schools are trying harder to help
UMass sent a message to students and parents this week because a lot of students are feeling like something’s not right, especially those who feel picked on because of who they are, where they were born, or what they believe.
The heads of UMass got together and said, “We know you students are really worried and don’t know what’s going to happen.” They also said very strongly that they hate it when anyone is mean, hateful, or tries to scare others.
The letter told students, “We’re here for you, we’re with you, and we want this campus to always be a place where you feel you fit in, are respected, and are cared about.
Because people were hearing rumors that immigration police were on campus, UMass wanted to clear things up. They said that immigration officers (ICE) haven’t actually been there. It seems the confusion started when someone saw a government officer doing a background check on someone applying for a job. Someone else misunderstood what was happening. The university said this whole thing shows how scared a lot of people are feeling on college campuses right now.
To help with the growing worries, UMass has made their webpage about government stuff better. It now has easy-to-understand information for students and teachers from other countries. You can find answers to common questions, plans for when things go wrong, and what to do if your visa is threatened. Plus, UMass is trying to make their free lawyer service for students bigger, so they can help even more people with immigration problems.
In the past few weeks, the Trump administration has been canceling visas of hundreds of international students who are already in the US. Marco Rubio, the Secretary of State, said in March that they’ve taken away visas from around 300 people, and they’re doing it every day.
Because visas are being canceled recently and things are happening unexpectedly, many international students don’t know what their future in the US will be.
Universities like Columbia and Duke have confirmed that some of their students from other countries had their permission to stay (visas) canceled out of nowhere, and they weren’t given any reason. This happened to four students at Columbia, and Duke said it happened to two current students and one who had graduated and was working.
On top of that, people are saying that immigration officers are checking students’ social media when they look at their visas. This has made many students scared that their posts online could lead to them being arrested or deported.
The message from UMass also told the students who are feeling this pressure the most: “Being yourself right now – even just by going to class or being part of our school – is a really brave and important thing to do.”