This is a developing story that The Guardian is continuing to monitor. This piece was last updated April 7, 12 a.m. You can read The Guardian’s original breaking report from April 5 at 10 p.m. below this article.

At 8:49 p.m. on April 4, Chancellor Pradeep Khosla released a campus-wide notice sharing that five UC San Diego international students had their F-1 visas suddenly terminated. A sixth student was “detained at the border, denied entry and deported to their home country.” The federal government gave no specific reason for these terminations. This follows news of similar sudden visa terminations of international students across the United States. 

While The UCSD Guardian has been unable to verify the identity of any individual student, we received confirmation from Matt Nagel, senior executive director of the UCSD Public Relations Council, that all six students were international students holding F-1 visas. They were instructed to leave the country immediately, with no explicit timeline given.

Various publications have shared that students have also faced visa terminations at UCLA, UC Berkeley, UC Santa Barbara, UC Davis, and UC Irvine. The Guardian has independently verified that students were notified of three F-1 visa terminations at UC Santa Cruz on April 6 at around 2:15 p.m. As of this article’s publishing, The Guardian could not find any information indicating that UC Merced students are also facing visa terminations. 

On April 4, the UC Office of the President issued a statement regarding these visa terminations across the University of California.

“The University of California is aware that international students across several of our campuses have been impacted by recent SEVIS terminations,” the statement read. “This is a fluid situation, and we continue to monitor and assess its implications for the UC community and the people affected.” 

To get an expert opinion, The Guardian spoke to Annie Rios, executive director and managing attorney at Uprise Theatre, who has extensive experience in immigration law.

Rios explained the unprecedented nature of this situation, emphasizing how unusual it is for immigrants to have their visas revoked so suddenly without a specific reason. 

“I do think that it is unique in how forcefully the administration is taking on this agenda, and the way in which they are violating people’s due process,” she said. “There really isn’t a reason to revoke the visa unless they fall out of compliance with the governance of what the visa requires. … That’s why this is incredibly frightening; we’re looking at due process being dismantled in front of us. Of course you need to know [why your visa is being revoked]. Is an arrested person usually told why they’re being charged with something? Of course they are.”

To students on any kind of visa and green-card holders, Rios advises getting in contact with an immigration attorney. In addition, she recommended “people to be educated about their rights, to know that they don’t have to talk to law enforcement, that they have the right not to self incriminate [and] the right to speak with an attorney.”

Many are wondering what universities can do right now to protect their students. Rios weighed in. 

“I think this is one of the contexts where the government is demanding information, and universities should really be able to stand firm and withhold the student information,” she said. “This is a fiduciary relationship, one that is protected by [Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act], and the school should adhere to those [laws] without getting bullied by the government.” 

Rios suggested a number of ways the University could take action, including holding informational sessions, ensuring students know their rights, instructing faculty on how to handle interactions with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, or even disallowing ICE from being on campus. 

In this uncertain time, Rios expressed her fears about the nationwide scrutiny of immigrants. “I am really worried that this is going to see a decline of immigrants in higher education, and I think that that’s sad,” she said. “It’s sad for the university. It’s sad for the students.” 

Khosla’s April 4 statement directed students to the International Services and Engagement Office and its Immigration Policy Updates page for current information and resources. 

“The students have been notified, and we are working directly with them to provide support,” the statement read.

An anonymous faculty member has informed The Guardian of an emergency meeting held on April 4 before the campuswide notice to discuss federal immigration actions at UCSD.

According to the anonymous faculty member, UC chancellors are hesitant to act as the UCOP has not yet provided instruction on how individual university campuses should respond. 

These terminations have occurred at private and public institutions alike. Rios spoke to the avenues available to the University of California as a public institution as opposed to a private one.

“I think people might say, well, a private university may be able to do more to protect their students, [but] they don’t really have to,” Rios said. “UCSD does; it has to abide by the law as it exists because it is state and federally funded. I would argue that even more than a private institution, the [University of California] holds a duty to the state and federal constitution above all. If they need to follow the law, they can’t follow the law at the whim of an administration that changes every four years.”

Speculations about which students were targeted and why are circulating around the University of California and at UCSD. The Guardian cannot verify any particular reasons for why these students were targeted. 

The Guardian originally reported that staff from UCSD’s ISEO surmised that these students may all share a prior arrest record. At UCLA, The Daily Bruin also reported that these terminations could be related to “arrests or misdemeanor convictions.” However, the anonymous UCSD faculty member shared that those who know the UCSD students’ identities have not been able to identify any patterns that would indicate why they were targeted. 

The six students span across different majors and graduating years, and some do not have a prior criminal record. The source also added that no patterns were identified in the visa terminations at other UC campuses. The Guardian is working to verify this information independently and has reached out to the Public Relations Board for comment. At this time, we have received no response.

The Guardian is pursuing all possible avenues to investigate which students are being targeted for visa termination and why, including a potential link between deportations and involvement in protests. If you have any information, please send your tip to [email protected].

Breaking report: April 5, 10 p.m.

At 8:49 p.m. today, Chancellor Pradeep Khosla released a campus-wide notice sharing that five UC San Diego international students had their F-1 visas suddenly terminated. A sixth student was “detained at the border, denied entry and deported to their home country.” This follows news of similar sudden visa terminations of international students across the United States. 

The statement, which was titled “Updates on Recent Federal Immigration Actions,” reported that the University received notification yesterday, without prior warning. The federal government gave no specific reason for these terminations. 

The UCSD Guardian reached out to Matt Nagel, senior executive director of the UCSD Public Relations Council, to request comment on the statement. Nagel was unable to confirm the immigration status of the student that was detained or further details about the visa terminations and affected students.

Visa terminations have reportedly been affecting students across several University of California campuses, according to a statement released by the UC Office of the President earlier today.

“The University of California is aware that international students across several of our campuses have been impacted by recent SEVIS terminations,” the statement read. “This is a fluid situation, and we continue to monitor and assess its implications for the UC community and the people affected.” 

Khosla’s statement directs students to the International Services and Engagement Office and its Immigration Policy Updates page for current information. 

An employee at the ISEO speculated that these terminations are targeting international students with a prior arrest record, such as those with DUIs. They recommended that international students with prior arrests seek an attorney. 

The chancellor’s statement also refers readers to an FAQ from the University of California. 

The FAQ provides information on UC policy regarding the extent of its compliance with federal immigration enforcement. It reiterates the UC’s 2016 public statement ensuring campus police will not “undertake joint efforts with federal immigration enforcement authorities to investigate, detain, or arrest individuals for violation of federal immigration law.” The Guardian will continue to monitor this story. If you have any information to share, please send an email or anonymous tip to [email protected].

UPDATE: April 5, 7:30 p.m. 

This article was updated on April 6 at 2:30 p.m. to reflect that UC Santa Cruz has now shared a release that students there have been impacted.

Following the campus-wide notice sent from the chancellor’s office yesterday, students are scrambling to discover more information about who was affected, why, and what this means. Here’s what The UCSD Guardian knows so far:

What is the University doing right now? 

Chancellor Pradeep Khosla’s April 4 statement directed students to the International Services and Engagement Office and its Immigration Policy Updates page for current information and resources. 

“The students have been notified, and we are working directly with them to provide support,” the statement read.

An anonymous faculty member has informed The Guardian of an emergency meeting held on April 4 before the campuswide notice to discuss federal immigration actions at UCSD.

According to the anonymous faculty member, UC chancellors are hesitant to act as the UC Office of the President has not yet provided instruction on how individual university campuses should respond. The Guardian reached out to the Public Relations Office for further comment and has not heard back at this time.

Who are the impacted students?

While The Guardian has been unable to verify the identity of any individual student, we have received confirmation from several sources at the University that all six students were international students holding F-1 visas. They were instructed to leave the country immediately.

Various publications have shared that students have also faced visa terminations at UCLA, UC Berkeley, UC Santa Barbara, and UC Irvine. As of this article’s publishing, students at UC Davis and UC Merced have not received any notifications indicating visa terminations at their campuses. UC Santa Cruz sent out a campuswide notice on April 6 at around 2:15 p.m., sharing that “late in the week, we learned that three UC Santa Cruz students had their records terminated.” 

Which students are at risk?

Speculations about which students were targeted and why are circulating around the University of California and at UC San Diego. 

The Daily Bruin reported that the UCLA Dashew Center for International Students and Scholars believes these terminations are related to “arrests or misdemeanor convictions.” The Daily Cal did not provide any further information about the circumstances of the visa revocations at UC Berkeley. 

The Guardian originally reported (below) that staff from UCSD’s International Services and Engagement Office surmised that these students may all share a prior arrest record. However, the anonymous faculty member shared that those who know the students’ identities have not been able to identify any patterns that would indicate why they were targeted. 

The six students span across different majors and graduating years, and some do not have a prior criminal record. The source also added that no patterns were identified in the visa terminations at other UC campuses. 

The Guardian is pursuing all possible avenues to investigate which students are being targeted for visa termination and why, including the potential link between deportations and involvement in protests. If you have any information, please send your tip to [email protected].