Taking away students’ visas violates their rights and threatens the UC’s commitment to diversity and inclusion, pushing international students into further uncertainty
BY THE EDITORIAL BOARD
Last weekend, campus administration announced that seven students and five recent graduates had their F-1 visas terminated without explanation. Unfortunately, this is happening across other universities and the entire University of California system: six students at UC Berkeley, six at UC Los Angeles and five visa terminations and one border deportation at UC San Diego — this total does not include alumni or recent graduates.
This is a result of the Trump administration’s ongoing efforts to oversee the nation’s largest mass deportation effort, censor students’ free speech and to impose an authoritarian agenda across the nation. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has stated that he has terminated more than 300 visas, including those of students.
The Editorial Board condemns this recent news and stands in solidarity with our students who have been targeted by the Trump administration. UC Davis itself has a large international student population, more than 9,000, which makes this campus especially susceptible to administrative actions.
While Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have not stepped foot on campus, according to current reports, we call on the UC Administration to do everything they can to protect all students. Universities are intended to be places of innovation and education, not places of raids, deportations and censorship.
UC police will not coordinate or help with any investigations led by ICE or federal forces, according to a statement from Chancellor Gary May.
“Enforcement of federal immigration laws rests with the federal government and not with UC police,” May said in his statement. “Campus police officers will not contact, detain, question or arrest an individual solely on the basis of suspected undocumented immigration status or to discover the immigration status of any individual. UC police will not undertake joint efforts with federal immigration enforcement authorities to investigate, detain or arrest individuals for violation of federal immigration law.”
To be clear, students on visas are documented and are entitled to the rights and privileges of citizens — including free speech. Students across the U.S. have had their visas revoked for several unjust reasons, including over something as simple as traffic violations, according to the Associated Press. While the federal government has not provided reasoning behind visa revocations, a common denominator amongst some of these students that shouldn’t be ignored is their involvement in pro-Palestinian protests.
On Jan. 30, Trump signed an executive order that claimed to combat anti-semitism within the U.S.; This has been their justification to enact much of these deportation efforts and to censor pro-Palestinian activism in America.
“To all the resident aliens who joined in the pro-jihadist protests, we put you on notice: come 2025, we will find you, and we will deport you,” Trump said in the January executive order. “I will also quickly cancel the student visas of all Hamas sympathizers on college campuses, which have been infested with radicalism like never before.”
What the Trump administration is doing is fascist and impedes on the basic freedoms promised to those who live in this country. Deporting students over their free speech and political opinions challenges our right to call this country a democracy.
Rumeysa Ozturk, a student at Tufts University, was detained by ICE over an op-ed she wrote last year in a student newspaper that criticized Israel. She is still in custody of ICE, attempting to challenge her deportation.
Since then, student journalists have begun retracting their names from stories in fear of retaliation from the Trump administration. By detaining Ozturk, this administration has attempted to strike fear and panic into those who speak out and resist what has happened to our country.
In order to combat this, it is still important — now more than ever — to call out what is happening and to stay informed. To do our part, The California Aggie will continue providing coverage of accurate and essential information as news develops. If you are worried for your safety regarding the recent visa terminations, you can email editor@theaggie.org about having your information removed from our coverage upon approval. If you have any information regarding local ICE presence or any other essential updates, you may reach out to us as well.
As things remain uncertain in this country, it is critical to stay resilient and to speak out against all forms and levels of injustice. As always, be sure to know your rights — regardless of your citizenship status, you have them. You have the right to remain silent and to not let federal agents into your home. For more information, you can visit the ACLU website or see the UC Know Your Rights Card.
Written by: The Editorial Board
