Two graduate students at North Carolina State University have left the United States after the US State Department revoked their student visas. The students, both enrolled in the College of Engineering, were informed last week of their visa terminations and, after consulting with attorneys and family members, chose to leave the country voluntarily to avoid deportation.
The two students are from Saudi Arabia, one of them identified by the Technician, NC State’s student newspaper, as Saleh Al Gurad. While no reason was given by the US State Department for the revocation, many of the recent examples of visa revocations of student foreign nations were connected to anti-Israel campus protests. No information immediately suggests the two students participated in protests of this nature, however, so the cause is unclear.
The revocations are two of hundreds over the past several weeks as the US State Department enforces the Immigration Nationality Act of 1952, cracking down on visa holders whose activities are deemed a national security threat. Others had visas terminated for allegedly misrepresenting information in their initial visa application. There are more than 1.1 million international students studying on student visas nationwide, and an estimated 300 have been instructed to self-deport voluntarily.
“It might be more than 300 at this point; we do it every day,” said Secretary of State Marco Rubio during a press conference in Guyana on Thursday. “Every time I find one of these lunatics, I take away their visas. Every country in the world has a right to decide who comes in as a visitor and who doesn’t.”
NC State Office of International Services
The NC State Office of International Services (OIS) issued a statement on Tuesday informing students and faculty members of the two students whose visas were terminated. The statement emphasized that NC State was not responsible for these terminations.
OIS learned of the students’ visa revocations last Wednesday, but news of the events is only now reaching students, staff, and faculty after the Technician reported on them earlier this week. According to the university’s OIS, NC State has more than 6,000 international students, representing more than 120 countries. Some faculty have raised concerns that visa revocations like these could create fear and uncertainty among the international student population.
Chancellor Woodson reports that the students were in good standing at NC State and that officials from the US State Department have not yet issued a reason for the students’ visa terminations. NC State OIS asserts that NC State is “committed to assisting these two students in any way we can, including completing the semester from abroad.”
In response to inquiries from Carolina Journal, a spokesperson from the US State Department said they could not comment on the cases.
“Due to privacy considerations, and visa confidentiality, we generally will not comment on Department actions with respect to specific cases,” a spokesperson from the US State Department responded. “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. The Department of State will continue to work closely with the Department of Homeland Security to administer and enforce U.S. visas and immigration laws.”
Associate Professor Margaret Simon of NC State’s English Department emailed her students a link to the OIS statement, with the subject line “Campus Climate for International Students.” She called incidents like these “life-changing and traumatic for those targeted.”
This week, images of “red cards” — produced by the non-profit Immigration Legal Resource Center — have been circulating on a Reddit forum. These cards, now appearing on campuses nationwide, provide instructions in English and Arabic on how to respond to federal agents, if approached.
‘catch and revoke’
While the US State Department has not indicated the reason for these NC State students’ visa termination, in cases on other campuses students have been told to self-deport for things ranging from DUIs to supporting terror organizations. As one tool in a program titled “Catch and Revoke,” the federal government is reportedly using artificial intelligence to comb social media, news reports, and other public information to flag visa holders’ for potential support or affiliation with Hamas or other terrorist groups.
Like other schools, NC State has had pro-Palestine protest on campus. On Memorial Day last year, the NC State Memorial Bell Tower, a sacred monument meant to honor NC State alumni who were killed in World War I, was vandalized by two unidentified perpetrators. The vandals spray painted “Free Palestine,” “Gaza,” and “Eyes on Rafah,” on the belltower and covered the base of the monument in red handprints and large paint puddles to depict images of blood.
Similarly raucous protests, which included arrests for things like vandalism, disorderly conduct, and assault on a government official, happened a few miles west on I-40 at UNC Chapel Hill.