Trump Administration Revokes Visas of 13 UW-Madison Students, Alumni

MADISON, Wis. (WMDX) – The federal government has revoked the visas of more than a dozen people affiliated with UW-Madison. 

Leaders posted a statement on the university’s website that said six students and seven alumni on employment extensions are being told to leave the US. 

The statement said UW-Madison played no role in the visa terminations. In fact, university staff said they don’t know why these people’s visas were canceled, and are trying to find out why. As of Monday, university leaders were not aware of any federal law enforcement presence on campus. 

Staff said they do not believe these 13 people are having their status canceled because of political activity on campus. Many of the people the administration is trying to deport were involved in protests against the war in Gaza. 

Mahmoud Khalil is perhaps the best-known case right now. He’s a graduate student at Columbia University with a green card and permanent residence status. He’s married to an American citizen, who is pregnant with their first child. He participated in protests against the war in Gaza. 

The federal government is trying to deport him. Immigration lawyers and The Trump administration are now fighting it out in court. 

Two weeks ago, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said they’ve revoked at least 300 people’s visas across the country. 

“If you come into the United States as a visitor and create a ruckus for us, we don’t want it. We don’t want it in our country,” Rubio said. 

According to NPR, the Trump administration is justifying these deportations with a rarely-used statute that says the state department can revoke visas if a person is a threat to US foreign policy.

UW-Madison leaders said they’re working with the 13 people affected to help them navigate what comes next. They’re also directing international students to resources on campus.