Roshan Kumar expected to be mildly anxious in the final stages of his PhD, like every other doctoral student. But he was not prepared for the panic he is currently experiencing as an international student in the United States.
After the Donald Trump administration took charge in late January, university campuses have been rife with visa revocations, status terminations and deportations of foreign students.
Kumar has been constantly checking his email, expecting his visa to be terminated. “The last I checked, which was two days ago, my status was the same – valid,” he said. “Yet, I’m extremely anxious.”
Riya, another PhD student, said she is so terrified that she keeps checking to see if her door is locked. “I’m scared they’ll suddenly barge in and take me,” she said. “Others have said that they see ICE everywhere on the streets too.”
The Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, is the American federal agency that enforces immigration law and controls border security.
Over the past few weeks, ICE agents have abruptly detained foreign students as well as immigrants and asylum-seekers. In March, ICE agents surrounded Turkish student Rumeysa Öztürk on the street outside her home in Somerville, Massachusetts, and dragged her into a car. Öztürk, a doctoral scholar at Tufts University, had written an article in the student newspaper calling for divestment from Israel.
“That is not too far from where I am,” said Priya, who is about to complete her master’s programme at a prominent university. “That video was extremely scary to watch.” Öztürk has challenged her detention but she is in custody at a centre in Louisiana, 2,600 km away from Somerville.
The visas of an estimated 1,700 international students, some of them recent graduates, have been revoked, according to a tracker by Inside Higher Ed. There are no official numbers yet but of 327 visa revocations that were examined by the American Immigration Lawyers Association, at least 50% were of Indian students.
The crackdown on campuses has caused widespread panic, fear and anxiety among Indians, who account for the largest number of international students in the US.
Some Indian students told Scroll that they were reconsidering their decision to continue studying or working in the US. The students have been identified by pseudonyms as they feared repercussions for speaking out.
“I keep thinking I should keep cash on me, establish contact with a lawyer,” said Riya. “Just take as many precautions in case something happens.”
Arbitrary action after months of protests
Even before Trump took charge as US president in January , universities were targeting student protestors.
Campuses in the US have been on edge since April 2024 when students across the country launched protests against Israel’s war in Gaza. Students at universities across the US, including prominent institutions such as Harvard, Columbia, UC Berkeley, set up encampments calling for divestment from Israel.
Some universities deployed police to clear the encampments, drawing accusations that they had used excessive force. In some institutions, student protestors were suspended.
After Trump’s inauguration on January 20, he signed an executive order to “combat antisemitism”, preparing the grounds to deport students who had participated in the protests in support of Palestine.
“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 a fact sheet on the executive order, according to Reuters.
Initially, international students feared that the government would revoke the visas of students who had participated in the protests. However, many students who had not been involved in the demonstrations are also being targeted. “…They seem to be going after just about anybody,” said Priya.
She added: “We are hearing of students having their visas revoked because of speeding tickets, for tailgating, for not updating their latest address and other such petty issues.” Living in a state that voted for the Democratic Party in the presidential elections, Priya believed she would be safer. “But even here students are being taken without any warning,” she said.
Riya had supported the anti-war cause. At first she was worried that her pro-Palestinian activism had endangered her visa. But, she said, “I know that they are just going after people for no reason at all.”
Another student told Scroll that she missed a week of college after a student was deported from her university. She had signed a petition for peace in Palestine and was worried that she would be targeted as well.
Some said they had wiped their social media profiles after hearing that the State Department and ICE were looking through Instagram and other channels to identify students who had participated in protests, showed support for Palestine or held opposing political opinions. Riya said the university told students to be careful about what they post online.
“The universities already know where we stand,” said Riya. “Deleting our media is some sort of anticipatory obedience.”
Students are also being careful about text messages and other material on their phones. Some have switched to apps that prioritise user privacy.
Gyan Prakash, a professor at the University of Princeton, said that the fear extends to faculty as well as recently naturalised citizens and permanent US residents who hold so-called green cards.
Some pro-Israeli groups are using facial recognition software to identify protestors and sending the information to the State Department, Prakash said. “In some ways, it is easier to track faculty and target them in case they have signed petitions extending support to the protests,” he said.
Fear of travel, little clarity
On April 11, the Department of Homeland Security directed international students to carry their documentation with them at all times.
Kumar said he is not going to do so because he cannot risk losing his passport. “That’s where my visa is and if I lose my passports, that’s it for me,” he said. “I have a valid driver’s licence and my I-20 form which is downloadable from the internet, so that should suffice.”
The I-20 form is legal proof that an international student is enrolled in a programme of study in the US.
A few weeks ago, Priya panicked after she received an email from the US government’s Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, convinced that she was being deported. “But it was just an email stating that many deportations are happening,” she said.
She does not see the point of carrying documents with her at all times either. “They are kidnapping students off the streets, so I don’t think they care much about our documents,” she said. “If they’ve decided to deport me, they can come home also and take me.”
Student say that communication about visa revocations and terminations has not been coming from from the US government but from universities. “We were told by the university not to check our status on the website…” said Riya. “We were told if we check too much then authorities will start checking up on us.”
The American Immigration Lawyers Association confirmed that 83% of the students received notice of visa terminations from their universities.
Universities have advised students to cancel travel plans and remain in the country to avoid the risk of being denied reentry into the US. But even domestic travel, within the US, has evoked fear.
“Airports are terrifying,” said Kumar. “I may just be paranoid but I’m not comfortable travelling domestically either.” He also worries that he may not be able to visit his ailing parent in India. “I may not be able to go back in case something happens,” he said.
Riya had plans to visit India but has put everything on hold for now. “I just want to wait for things to settle down a little bit,” she said.
Priya, too, cancelled her trip to the United Kingdom to see a friend. “I’m scared they may not let me back,” she said, adding that another student she knew had to cancel tickets to fly home.
This can also affect academic work. Prakash, from Princeton University, said many of his students travel for fieldwork in summer. “Students usually go back to India or Europe to do research and fieldwork but they are compelled to stay here as they are not sure they will be allowed back in,” he said. ‘This will definitely impact their academic work.”
Prospective students have been writing to Prakash asking about admissions. “I’m just telling them to wait and see how things go because I’m not sure if this is the right time to apply,” he said.
He said: “It’s a huge loss for academia in the US if this situation continues. Higher education in the US has prospered on international contributions.”
No support
While US universities are issuing advisories and guidelines, students said cannot expect any practical support from their institutions. “They send us links to resources, lawyers and immigration experts but they are not going to support us legally in any way,” Kumar said. “It costs $4,000-$12,000 to file a case in court which is unaffordable and the university is not going to fund us.”
Students who have taken loans to study in the US feel under greater pressure. “People who don’t have loans are able to bounce back really quickly – they can return to India,” said Priya. “But I have to start thinking about getting to another country to find a job and repay the loan.”
When she took an educational loan, Priya had hoped to repay it by extending her visa by two years to find work – a provision available to students with degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM fields. But she can no longer count on it. “I’m very worried,” she said.
Kumar said he felt that the Indian government could be doing more to protect students. “I’ve heard that the Indian embassy has sent all students an email but I have not received a single mail from them,” he said. “We are not a small number, the Indian government must do more for us.”
Some students are considering moving back to India or to other countries. Riya said she felt the way students are being treated is disrespectful. “I don’t want to live in a place where I’m not treated with dignity,” she said.
For Priya, it’s a matter of when. “The minute I get a mail saying I’m being deported, I will just pack my bags and leave,” she said. “I don’t want to stay in a country that does not want me.”
