ISTANBUL

The Trump administration has revoked the visas of dozens of students from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), University of Califronia, Berkeley, Stanford University, and Columbia University as it continues its crackdown on pro-Palestinian activists.

UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk said in a statement that the Student and Exchange Visitor Program had terminated the visa status of six current and six former students enrolled in a career training program.

“The termination notices indicate that all terminations were due to violations of the terms of the individuals’ visa programs,” Frenk said, adding that recent visa revocations at UCLA raised concerns for the community and are part of a broader pattern at universities across the country.

The University of California, Berkeley announced that six students had their F-1 visas revoked by the Department of Homeland Security and were ordered to leave the country this week. Similarly, Stanford University said four students and two recent graduates also had their visas revoked.

According to the student newspaper Columbia Spectator, four international students at Columbia University also had their visas revoked.

The revocation of visas follows a wave of arrests of international students across the US in March. The Trump administration cited an immigration law allowing deportation for “serious adverse foreign policy consequences.”

Columbia student Mahmoud Khalil and Tufts student Rumeysa Ozturk were recently detained for their pro-Palestine stance. Georgetown graduate student Badar Khan Suri was held on similar charges.

Students have demonstrated and voiced their opinion against Israel's war on Gaza, where it has killed more than 50,000 people since Oct. 7, 2023 and left the enclave in ruins.

According to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, approximately 300 student visas have been revoked. He said “every time I find one of these lunatics, I take away their visas."