Speculation is brewing on Carnegie Mellon’s campus after the university announced two current students and five recent graduates had their international student visas revoked.
In a letter to members of the Carnegie Mellon Community on Monday, CMU leaders said it learned late last week that the two students and five graduates had their student visas revoked, and that their records were also terminated in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, which is run by the Department of Homeland Security.
Some international students told KDKA-TV they’re worried and scared.
“It’s really a hard thing in which we are going through right now….It’s honestly very distressing because I’m also a citizen of India, and then I’ve come to pursue my graduate studies here,” said Rithik Balaram, a CMU grad student.
University leaders didn’t say why the visas were revoked or if they even knew the reason.
It comes after Secretary of State Marco Rubio said last month that 300 student visas have been revoked as the Trump administration targets students who participated in campus protests.
Several students who are on international school visas told KDKA it’s already difficult being away from their families and now they don’t want to take any risks.
“We just like are very much worried. So many of my friends have gone and canceled their trip back to India just because of this reason,” Balaram said.
“My mom messaged me, and it’s a state of panic right now, so we’re all like really scared….I know for a fact that everyone who had planned to go back home for the summer is thinking of canceling their tickets,” a student from India who didn’t want to be on camera told KDKA.
At this time, CMU leaders said they are not aware of any immigration authorities on campus.
“These incidents understandably raise wider concerns for many in our community, and we take seriously our continued responsibility to ensure that our community is equipped with the information they need to navigate these uncertain times,” Carnegie Mellon said in the letter..
“It’s really scary times we’re living in,” said CMU student Marco Porras.
“I’m a physics major and there was a physics discussion like I literally just came from it where they were talking about what the physics department is doing to support students like with all the changes and stuff, and what to do if you see ICE people and stuff like that,” said Carnegie Mellon student Grace Gabrys.
Carnegie Mellon didn’t share any details about the students or graduates, saying school leaders are committed to safeguarding their privacy. The university says its Office of International Education has reached out to the seven people impacted to offer them support and connect them with legal resources.
“I don’t know why this happening, but I guess we’re in it right now, so we just have to go with it, but we’re really scared because we put so much on the line to be here; it’s just really scary,” an international student told KDKA.
Later this month, CMU said it will hold an open forum on immigration policies and sponsor free 15-minute one-on-one consultations with attorneys.