哈佛大学、东北大学、马萨诸塞大学、塔夫茨大学等大学的学生签证被吊销
【中美创新时报2025 年 4 月 7 日编译讯】（记者温友平编译）近日，波士顿及麻萨诸塞州各地大学的部分学生的签证被吊销，合法身份被终止，这在留学生中引发了焦虑和恐慌。《波士顿环球报》记者Spencer Buell, Ava Berger and Alexa Coultoff对此作了下述报道。
哈佛大学、东北大学、塔夫茨大学以及马萨诸塞大学波士顿分校和阿默斯特分校表示，他们发现联邦政府已宣布一些国际学生不再合法居住在美国。
撤销签证的原因尚不清楚，但特朗普政府和移民官员正试图驱逐那些支持席卷大学校园的亲巴勒斯坦运动或被指控犯罪的学生。
哈佛大学周日宣布，三名在校学生和两名刚毕业的学生的签证被吊销。
哈佛大学国际办公室在发给国际学生的电子邮件中写道：“我们不清楚撤销资格的细节和原因，但我们知道，全国各地高校中相当数量的学生和学者在大致相同的时间内经历了类似的身份变化。”该消息已于周日发布在网上。
该大学没有透露这些学生的身份，发言人拒绝进一步置评。
电子邮件称，管理人员在“例行记录审查”中发现，这些学生的签证（使他们能够在该国合法生活和学习）被撤销了。
声明表示，大学“对学生和人事记录保密，除非法律要求，否则不会与政府实体分享此类信息”。
据报道，该州乃至全国的留学生突然被剥夺合法身份，这一消息就是在这样的背景下发布的。
马萨诸塞大学阿默斯特分校周五晚间宣布，该校五名学生的签证被吊销。该校管理人员周六发现，第六名学生的签证也被吊销。
马萨诸塞大学阿默斯特分校校长哈维尔·雷耶斯在周日的最新声明中表示，该校没有参与政府针对学生的“单方面行动”。
雷耶斯说：“在联邦政府撤销签证和终止马萨诸塞大学阿默斯特分校学生非移民身份的每一个案例中，联邦政府都没有提前要求马萨诸塞大学阿默斯特分校提供信息，没有向联邦政府提供有关撤销的信息，也没有收到联邦政府关于终止身份的通知。 ”
雷耶斯说，自得知终止聘用决定以来，马萨诸塞大学阿默斯特分校全球项目办公室一直“积极监控”国土安全部的学生和交流访问者信息系统，“以确保学生了解他们的移民身份或在美国居留权利的任何变化”。
马萨诸塞大学波士顿分校校长马塞洛·苏亚雷斯-奥罗斯科 (Marcelo Suárez-Orozco) 在周六的公告中表示，两名现任学生和其他五名大学社区成员（包括参加培训项目的应届毕业生）的签证已被吊销。
公告称，当他们得知终止聘用的消息后，大学全球项目办公室向学生提供了“信息和支持”。
苏亚雷斯-奥罗斯科说：“我们认识到签证撤销和身份终止对我们的学生造成的重大影响，我们对他们和整个社区表示同情。”
东北大学表示，该校的学生也丧失了学籍，但目前尚不清楚具体人数。
该大学在其网站常见问题解答页面的更新中写道：“美国国务院已通知数名东北大学学生和应届毕业生，他们的签证已被吊销。”
该大学发言人将问题转至在线常见问题解答页面，并拒绝提供具体数字。
负责管理学生签证的美国国务院发言人拒绝对签证撤销一事发表评论。
“美国对违反美国法律的非公民采取零容忍态度。违法者，包括学生，可能面临拒签、撤销签证和/或驱逐出境，”该 发言人在一份书面声明中表示。“国务院将继续与国土安全部密切合作，管理和执行美国签证和移民法。”
目前尚不清楚这些 学生的政治信仰或参与与加沙冲突有关的抗议活动是否影响了政府决定吊销他们的签证。
据塔夫茨大学媒体关系执行主任帕特里克·柯林斯 (Patrick Collins) 称，塔夫茨大学已有两名学生失去合法身份。柯林斯在周日晚上的一封电子邮件中表示，第一名是塔夫茨大学博士生、土耳其公民鲁米莎·奥兹图尔克 (Rümeysa Öztürk)，于 3 月 25 日被剥夺合法身份；周四，一名研究生也失去了合法身份。
科林斯说，学校通知了这名学生，并“指导他们向外部移民资源寻求帮助”。他拒绝透露第二名学生的身份，并表示截至周日晚上，学校没有关于此案的更多信息。
Öztürk在萨默维尔的家外 被蒙面的联邦移民局特工逮捕，并被送往路易斯安那州的一处拘留所。
记录显示，Öztürk 的学生签证已于 3 月 21 日被吊销，但特朗普政府在逮捕她之前从未通知过她。
在波士顿联邦法院提起的诉讼中，Öztürk 的律师声称，她之所以成为攻击目标，是因为她与他人共同撰写了塔夫茨大学报纸上的一篇专栏文章， 批评塔夫茨大学对亲巴勒斯坦运动的回应，并呼吁大学从以色列撤资。
周五，一名联邦法官将Öztürk的案件移交给佛蒙特州联邦法院。
东北大学网站表示，该校“没有证据表明东北大学的学生或应届毕业生因为政治宣传或言论而被取消学籍”。
马萨诸塞大学阿默斯特分校的官员表示，他们不认为签证决定与学生活动有关。据该校负责全球事务的副教务长卡尔彭·特里维迪 (Kalpen Trivedi) 称，被吊销签证的学生中没有一人在马萨诸塞大学阿默斯特分校抗议活动中被捕。
特里维迪说，签证因各种原因被吊销是常有的事，但在这么短的时间内吊销这么多签证却是极不寻常的。
他说，政府立即终止学生的合法身份也是不寻常的。
他说：“这真的很重要，因为一旦你的身份被终止，你就属于非法居住在该国。”
他说，校方并未被告知这些决定，因此一直在扫描联邦数据库，以查明学生何时失去身份。特里维迪说，这种情况让大学里的国际学生陷入恐慌。
“人们非常焦虑，非常恐惧，”他说。“人们不知道自己是不是下一个受害者。”
波士顿大学临床法学副教授萨拉·谢尔曼-斯托克斯 (Sarah Sherman-Stokes) 在周日接受采访时表示，因“虚假的法律主张”而终止签证“确实令人不安”。
“国际学生办公室突然有一天在系统中发现签证被撤销或终止，而办公室或学生都没有收到任何通知，”谢尔曼-斯托克斯说，他也是该大学移民权利和人口贩运诊所的副主任。
马萨诸塞州法律改革研究所高级移民律师 Heather Yountz 表示，她听说过一些学生因为最近的行动而“自我驱逐”或决定不来美国的故事。
扬茨说：“在我 17 年的移民法执业生涯中，我从未见过这样的事情。”
《波士顿环球报》的希拉里·伯恩斯对本报告做出了贡献。
题图：2025 年 3 月，哈佛大学剑桥校区。 图片来源：SOPHIE PARK/NYT
Harvard, Northeastern, UMass, Tufts among colleges whose students have had visas revoked
By Spencer Buell, Ava Berger and Alexa Coultoff Globe Staff and Globe Correspondent,Updated April 6, 2025, 4:08 p.m.
.
The Harvard University campus in Cambridge in March, 2025.SOPHIE PARK/NYT
A number of students on college campuses in Boston and across Massachusetts have had their visas revoked and legal status terminated in recent days, spreading anxiety and panic among international students.
Harvard University, Northeastern University, Tufts University and the University of Massachusetts campuses in Boston and Amherst say they discovered that the federal government has declared that some international students are no longer in the country legally.
The reasons for the visa revocations were not immediately clear, but come amid an effort by the Trump administration and immigration officials to remove students who have voiced support for the pro-Palestinian movement that swept through college campuses, or who have been accused of crimes.
Harvard announced Sunday that three current students, and two who recently graduated, were among those whose visas had been revoked.
“We are not aware of the details of the revocations or the reasons for them, but we understand that comparable numbers of students and scholars in institutions across the country have experienced similar status changes in roughly the same timeframe,” the Harvard International Office wrote in a message emailed to international students and posted online Sunday.
The university did not identify the students, and a spokesperson declined to comment further.
The email said administrators discovered that the students’ visas, which grant them the ability to live and study in the country legally, had been revoked “during a routine records review.”
It said the university “keeps student and personnel records private and will not share such information with government entities unless legally required to do so.”
The announcement came amid reports across the state and country of international students suddenly having their legal status stripped away.
The University of Massachusetts Amherst announced Friday night that five students’ visas had been revoked there. Administrators there discovered on Saturday that a sixth student had also had their visa revoked.
In an updated statement on Sunday, UMass Amherst Chancellor Javier Reyes said the university did not play any role in the government’s “unilateral action” against students.
“In each of the cases in which the federal government revoked the visas and terminated the non-immigrant statuses of UMass Amherst students, UMass Amherst was not asked for information in advance by the federal government, did not provide information concerning the revocations to the federal government, and was not notified by the federal government of these status terminations,” Reyes said.
Since learning of the terminations, the UMass Amherst Office of Global Programs has been “proactively monitoring” the Department of Homeland Security’s Student and Exchange Visitor Information System “to ensure students are aware of any changes in their immigration status or their right to be in the United States,” Reyes said.
At UMass Boston, Chancellor Marcelo Suárez-Orozco said in an announcement Saturday that the visas of two current students and five other members of the university community, including recent graduates participating in training programs, had been revoked.
When they learned of the terminations, the Office of Global Programs at the University provided the students with “information and support,” according to the announcement.
“We recognize the significant impact that visa revocations and status terminations have on our students, and we empathize with them and our entire community,” Suarez-Orozco said.
Northeastern University said students there had lost status as well, although it was not immediately clear how many.
“Several Northeastern students and recent graduates have been notified by the Department of State that their visas have been revoked,” the university wrote in an update to a frequently asked questions page on its website.
A spokesperson for the university directed questions to the online FAQ page and declined to provide specific numbers.
A spokesperson for the State Department, which administers student visas, declined to comment on the visa revocations.
“The United States has zero tolerance for non-citizens who violate U.S. laws. Those who break the law, including students, may face visa refusal, visa revocation, and/or deportation,” the spokesperson said in a written statement. “The Department of State will continue to work closely with the Department of Homeland Security to administer and enforce U.S. visas and immigration laws.”
It’s unclear whether the students’ political beliefs or participation in protests related to the conflict in Gaza played a role in the government’s decision to revoke their visas.
Tufts University has had two students lose their legal status, according to Patrick Collins, the executive director of media relations at the university. The first was Rümeysa Öztürk, a PhD student at Tufts University and a Turkish national, on March 25, and then on Thursday, a graduate student also lost their status, Collins said in an email on Sunday evening.
The university informed the student and “directed them to outside immigration resources for support,“ Collins said. He declined to identify the second student and said the university had no additional information about that case as of Sunday evening.
Öztürk was arrested by masked federal immigration agents outside her Somerville home and sent to a detention facility in Louisiana.
Öztürk’s student visa had been revoked on March 21 but the Trump administration never notified her before her arrest, records show.
In a suit filed in federal court in Boston, Öztürk’s lawyers alleged that she was targeted for co-authoring an op-ed in the Tufts newspaper criticizing Tufts’ response to the pro-Palestinian movement and calling for divestment from Israel.
A federal judge on Friday transferred Öztürk’s case to federal court in Vermont.
The Northeastern website said the university had “no evidence that a Northeastern student or recent graduate has had their status revoked due to political advocacy or speech.”
UMass Amherst officials said they did not believe the visa decisions were related to student activism. None of the students who lost visas had been arrested at UMass protests, according to Kalpen Trivedi, the university’s vice provost for global affairs.
Trivedi said it is routine for visas to be revoked for a number of reasons, but highly unusual for so many to be revoked in such a short amount of time.
He said it was also unusual for the government to immediately terminate students’ legal status.
“That is really crucial because the moment your status is terminated, you are now unlawfully present in the country,” he said.
He said administrators are not being told about these decisions, so have been scanning federal databases to find out when students have lost status. The situation has put international students at the university in a state of panic, Trivedi said.
“There’s a lot of anxiety. There’s a lot of fear,” he said. “People don’t know whether they’re next.”
Sarah Sherman-Stokes, a clinical associate professor of law at Boston University, said in an interview Sunday that the visa terminations on “spurious legal claims” are “really troubling.”
“International student offices are just sort of waking up one day and seeing in their system that visas have been revoked or terminated without any notice to the office or to the student,” said Sherman-Stokes, also the associate director of the Immigrants’ Rights and Human Trafficking Clinic at the university.
Heather Yountz, a senior immigration staff attorney at the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute, said she has heard stories of students “self-deporting” or deciding not to come to the United States because of the recent actions.
“This is not something I have seen in my 17 years of practicing immigration law,” Yountz said.
Hilary Burns of the Globe Staff contributed to this report.
