Social media posts or speeding tickets could trigger students' visa revocation, IU's vice president for international affairs Hannah Buxbaum told campus leaders last Friday.
WFIU/WTIU News obtained a department chair's three-page letter to her department's faculty summarizing what Buxbaum said, including how IUPD could become involved and what the university can do for impacted students.
The letter said “less than 10” students were impacted, but it also stressed that the situation changes rapidly and that the “government does not inform the student or IU” about revocations.
The Trump administration has revoked hundreds of student visas across the country in recent weeks. Some students were targeted for engaging in what the administration considers antisemitic speech on campus, but for many the reason remains unclear.
How a student is flagged might not be obvious.
“Students may not be thinking of their speeding ticket or a charge that was dropped as being significant, but it may be the trigger for a revocation,” the letter said.
Social media posts are another concern.
“There have as yet been no revocations on this score, but we should expect that this will happen,” the letter said.
The letter said that Buxbaum responded to a question about controversial research topics being used as a trigger.
“At the moment, people’s research doesn’t seem to be on the radar yet,” the letter says, adding in parentheses, “Note the word ‘yet.’”
Among other points raised at the meeting:
- The IU Police Department told a faculty liaison that it would assist ICE, but only if there were a warrant. In other situations, “they do not look into peoples’ status or seek people out.”
- It’s unclear whether the IU Foundation’s money can be used to assist students, “either to support students while they are here or to buy them a plane ticket home.”
- Department funds cannot be used because the money comes from the university as opposed to Foundation funds that come from outside the university.
- The government does not inform the student or IU when a visa is revoked, and there is no general advice that applies to everyone.
“A first-year graduate student is not in the same position as a student who is (working on a doctorate),” the letter said. “Students who have American spouses or dependents need different advising.”
IU's Office of International Services and IU Global maintain resources for international students on how to maintain their visa status and what they need to reenter the country if they travel abroad.
