Several international students at Cornell and Binghamton University have had their visas revoked in recent weeks.
Across the country, over a thousand international students have reportedly had their legal status changed by the federal government, according to Inside Higher Ed. Some, like Tufts University doctoral student Rumeysa Ozturk, are being held in Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention centers after being detained by ICE officers.
At least five students at Binghamton University have had their visas revoked.
“Binghamton's team from the Office of International Student and Scholar Services is in direct contact with the five impacted students to provide individualized guidance and assistance,” Binghamton University spokesperson Ryan Yarosh said in a statement.
Yarosh said the university is helping the students access legal support.
The State University of New York told Binghamton University’s student newspaper Pipe Dream that the university had not received any requests from federal authorities for information to help with enforcement or arrests.
SUNY officials told Pipe Dream that 21 students across the SUNY system have had their visa status changed as of April 9.
SUNY did not respond to WSKG’s request for comment in time for publication. According to Pipe Dream’s reporting, it is unclear why the students had their visas revoked.
Cornell University initially said a “small number” of its students have had their Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, or SEVIS, records terminated. The records track international student presence in the United States and are linked to student status and their ability to stay in the country.
First reported by the Cornell Sun, the announcement was posted on a website that is only accessible to people with a Cornell ID. The website said that most international students have not been affected and the university does not know why terminations are occurring in most cases.
A university spokesperson later told WSKG that the federal government has terminated 17 SEVIS records. Nine are current students and eight have already graduated.
The spokesperson said that the university currently knows of four people who have also had their visas revoked by the federal government.
Up until now SEVIS terminations have been performed by Cornell, not by the federal government.
This comes after immigration authorities revoked the visa of international Cornell grad student and Palestinian rights activist Momodou Taal last month. He was suing the government over free speech and due process concerns.
ICE agents planned to detain Taal but were unsuccessful. Taal left the country willingly last month and dropped his lawsuit.
