Breaking News illustration. (Isabella Hammond/CU Independent)
Update 4/10: The number of University of Colorado students whose visas have been revoked by the Department of Homeland Security has tripled, reaching 12. The campuses impacted have now grown to include CU Denver and CU Anschutz.
The Department of Homeland Security has not provided any reasoning behind the visa revocations.
“Federal agencies involved in these revocations are not sharing with CU the specific reasons for their actions,” the university said in a statement earlier this week. “We will not be releasing ongoing updates or names and details of any specific student circumstances due to federal laws that protect the privacy rights of students and their educational data unless court ordered to do so.”
The visas of at least 22 international students across the state of Colorado have now been revoked.
Update 4/2: While the Department of Homeland Security still has not commented on the matter, the Department of State has released a statement saying that they are unable to comment on these specific cases due to confidentiality concerns.
“The United States has zero tolerance for non-citizens who violate U.S laws. Those who break the law, including students, may face visa refusal, visa revocation and/or deportation,” read the statement.
The statement did not say why the student’s visas were revoked or whether the visa revocations were made in response to accusations of a crime.
The Department of Homeland Security revoked the academic visas of four international students attending the University of Colorado at the Boulder and Colorado Springs campuses.
In a statement to CBS News Colorado, a university spokesperson said, “At CU we are focused on supporting the success of all our students, including international students. Each one of our students are seeking to advance their careers and the lives of their families and we understand the anxieties that visa revocations cause to impacted students. We urge any international student with questions or concerns to reach out to their campus’ international student office.”
The revocation of these student visas follows Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s pledge to continue revoking visas for those involved in campus protests in a press conference on March 27.
The reason for why the student visas were revoked has not yet been made clear.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
Contact CU Independent News Editor Ainsley Coogan at Ainsley.Coogan@colorado.edu.
