Since being sworn into office, President Donald Trump has made good on his promise to attack immigrants in the United States. Foreign exchange students have begun to face the brunt of this attack, with more than 1,500 student visas being suddenly recalled without reason. Many students have already returned to their home countries for fear of being persecuted, which raises the question: how much longer do foreign exchange students live in fear of losing their right to education before someone intervenes?
The Department of Justice has been working on restoring the visas of many of the affected students. As of April 25, 2025, they have restored hundreds of people in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, otherwise known as SEVIS. SEVIS is in charge of working with students seeking an education in the US, and they monitor the studies, classes, and files pertaining to all foreign exchange students. Under Trump, the US. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has broken federal law by terminating the files of thousands of foreign exchange students after running the files of over one million students through a criminal record tracking database. The so-called “criminal records” for these students are minor traffic violations and tickets that were either dropped or dismissed.. Some of these students have never even received a summons for any crime whatsoever, yet they were still targeted by ICE.
Two hundred eighty colleges in twenty three states have been negatively affected by these unfair searches. These colleges range from prestigious private Universities to local community colleges. Not only is this detrimental to the international students who deserve an education, it’s harmful to the colleges themselves. Foreign exchange students are far more likely to pay full price for their college tuition, meaning that when they’re deported back to their home countries, or end up deciding not to pursue an education in America, colleges lose a major form of revenue. This money, that could help pay for salaries, buy better school supplies, and improve dorm rooms for students is lost because Trump doesn’t want anyone who’s not from America utilizing our already crumbling education system.
Majority of students affected by unfair visa termination were either from Africa, Asia, or the Middle East. This goes deeper than just international students getting their visas taken away, it’s trade to China getting shut down, it’s pronatalist laws, it’s ending birthright citizenship, and it’s blatant xenophobia. Students protesting Israel’s unfair treatment of Palestine were detained and deported without explanation. White Africans were given refugee status while Black Africans can’t even get an education in America without fear of unjust deportation. As Trump continues his attack on immigrants, intervention from the Department of Justice will be key in protecting foreign exchange students’ right to education.
