International students at these New Mexico universities have had their visas revoked

Students at three universities across New Mexico have had their student visas revoked by the U.S. Department of State, the schools confirmed Tuesday.

Several students at the University of New Mexico, six students at New Mexico State University and one student at New Mexico Tech in Socorro have had their visas revoked. Combined, the three universities have nearly 2,000 international students.

On Jan. 20, President Donald Trump issued an order calling for tighter checks on visa applicants, including those for international students, to assure “admitted aliens and aliens otherwise already present in the United States do not bear hostile attitudes toward its citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles, and do not advocate for, aid, or support designated foreign terrorists and other threats to our national security.”

Across the country, hundreds of students have had their visas revoked this week for reasons ranging from minor crimes to their participation in campus protests against Israel’s war with Hamas. The revoked visas play a role in fulfilling the long-standing campaign promise from Trump to tighten the country’s immigration policies and also crack down on what the White House calls anti-Semitism on college campuses.

“Today, a routine Student and Exchange Visitor Program database check revealed that a small number of UNM-affiliated individuals on non-immigrant student visas have had their SEVIS (Student and Exchange Visitor Information System) records terminated,” UNM spokeswoman Cinnamon Blair said in a statement.

UNM would not specify the number of students or their names to protect their identities, according to Blair, who added the university was not aware why the visas were revoked.

“An unexpected change in immigration status can be incredibly disruptive for impacted individuals and the larger international community and may cause broader uncertainty and anxiety to our Lobo family,” Blair said.

No students at Eastern New Mexico University in Portales have lost their visas, according to spokesperson John Houser, while Western New Mexico University in Silver City was unaware of any students who had visas revoked, according to university spokesperson Linda Brown. New Mexico Highlands University in Las Vegas did not respond to requests for comment.

On Monday, NMSU interim provost Lakshmi Reddi stated in a letter to the campus community that three student visas had been revoked. Three more revoked visas were subsequently discovered by checking SEVIS, a federal database pertaining to international students, a spokesperson for the Las Cruces-based institution told the Journal.

The university did not state whether the students were graduate or undergraduate students and said it was unaware of any research operations that had been affected.

NMSU President Valerio Ferme announced a task force combining university staff and students to assess how a series of Trump administration executive orders affect university operations and its mission as a land-grant institution.

Last week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said his department had revoked 300 visas so far this year, including foreign student visas. Rubio acknowledged to reporters that campus activism was a factor in decisions to grant visas, saying, “We are not going to be importing activists into the United States. They’re here to study. They’re here to go to class. They’re not here to lead activist movements that are disruptive and undermine our universities.”

UNM and NMSU both saw campus protests over Israel’s bombardment of Gaza last year, including arrests of students. In other states, international students who participated in protests or wrote articles criticizing Israel have been arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. However, NMSU said it was unaware of any connection between the affected students and last year’s demonstrations.

NMSU is advising students with questions regarding these and related executive orders to contact the university’s office for international students and scholar services.

“We realize these decisions bring much anxiety and concern to our communities,” Reddi wrote. “We want everyone to be able to pursue study and work in a supportive environment that allows all to thrive. We are being challenged to do so currently, but we continue to support our students as we abide by the law.”