Fourteen international students at Louisiana universities have had their permission to attend school in the United States revoked by the Trump administration.
Seven Southern University students, three at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, two at the University of New Orleans and two more at Tulane University have had their visas pulled, according to representatives with the schools.
The Southern students had their visas revoked in early April, school spokeswoman Janene Tate said in a statement to the Illuminator. The university was not given a reason for their visas being revoked, she said. Tate said she could not disclose the students’ names or the exact dates the visas were revoked, citing the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.
Marcus Jones, chief operating officer with the University of Louisiana System, confirmed the visa revocations at UL Lafayette and UNO.
Tulane spokesman Mike Strecker said two international students had their visas terminated “based on prior criminal arrests unrelated to any protest activity.”
The Trump administration has cracked down on international students they say have forfeited their right to be educated in the U.S., leaving hundreds at risk of deportation.
Inside Higher Ed has identified more than 1,000 international students and recent graduates who have had their legal status suddenly changed. Attorneys for many of the students have alleged they were targeted for their speech. The Trump administration announced last week it would monitor immigrants’ social media for “antisemitism.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced last month the State Department had revoked more than 300 student visas from international students, many of whom engaged in pro-Palestine demonstrations that have swept college campuses.
The Trump administration has taken a hard line against universities where students have protested Israel in the nearly 18 months since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack in which some 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals were killed and more than 250 people kidnapped. The incident kicked off a war between Israel and the extremist organization in which nearly 50,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to the United Nations, mostly women, children and elderly people.
Trump and other Republicans have painted the largely peaceful protests — and support of Palestine in general — as antisemitic. His administration has threatened 60 universities, including Tulane, with the revocation of federal funding if they fail “to protect Jewish students on campus.”
This report will be updated with additional information as it becomes available.