Don’t pack your bags yet: This warning could ruin students' and teachers' plans for spring break

The Trump administration has been making an effort to deport “criminal” non-citizens from the United States. However, many innocent legal immigrants and even US citizens have been swept up in the ICE raids taking place across the nation.

Additionally, the White House is also targeting those who express views that don’t align with their own. Especially those who have expressed criticism of Israel and that nation’s invasion of Gaza after the Hamas terrorist attacked in October 2023, like Ranjani Srinivasan, an international student from India.

Until recently, she was a doctoral candidate at Columbia, but self-deported to Canada after her visa was revoked and ICE agents came looking for her. The Department of Homeland Security accused her of being “involved in activities supporting Hamas, a terrorist organization,” in a statement without providing evidence reports The New York Times.

Universities warn some students and faculty not to travel abroad

Already several international students and teachers at US universities have had their visas revoked and been deported. Additionally, President Trump is mulling implementing another travel ban for certain countries, this time as many as 41.

All of this has prompted a number of universities to issue warnings to non-citizen faculty and students to avoid traveling abroad just ahead of spring break. Brown University’s Executive Vice President for Planning and Policy, Russell Carey, sent out the following statement in an email: “Potential changes in travel restrictions and travel bans, visa procedures and processing, re-entry requirements and other travel-related delays may affect travelers’ ability to return to the U.S. as planned.”

This came after Rasha Alawieh, an assistant professor of medicine, was held at Boston Logan International Airport on her return from Lebanon. She had her H1-B visa revoked and was deported reports the Brown Daily Herald. She was detained on a Thursday and late the next day a federal judge ordered that she not be moved out of Massachusetts.

Students are being warned to be cautious about domestic travel as well. “It is unclear whether there may be implications also for domestic travel within the United States as the federal policy landscape continues to evolve,” Carey explained in his email to Brown University students.

Potential loss of visas is weighing heavily on international students

Similar guidance has been sent out to students attending Columbia University and Cornell University reports USA TODAY. The outlet says that concern is growing among the more than 1.1 million international students that they will be targeted based on their nationality.

“It’s 100% affecting almost every aspect of my life right now, honestly,” a 21-year-old master’s student of journalism at Columbia told the outlet. “And that’s not coming from a dramatic place – there are real consequences.” The person did not disclose their name out of fear retribution.

Not only do students risk deportation if they try to travel for school activities or home to visit their families, but should an international student’s visa be revoked, they will also forfeit the degree that they’ve been working on.

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