Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed that the State Department has revoked over 300 visas for foreign students involved in what has been deemed to be inappropriate behavior. Asked by reporters during a visit to Guyana in South America to confirm reports of 300 visas stripped, Rubio said: “Maybe more than 300 at this point. We do it every day, every time I find one of these lunatics.”
Several high-profile cases have emerged in recent days as the Trump administration intensifies its crackdown on pro-Palestinian foreign students, including individuals with visas and permanent residents holding green cards. Alongside the Khalil case is that of Turkish student Rumeysa Ozturk from Tufts University, who was stopped and handcuffed on the street by officers, some with covered faces, as well as a PhD student from the University of Alabama. All were reportedly detained for alleged visa violations, but they appear to share a common thread: engaging in political activism on campus.
U.S. immigration authorities detained the University of Alabama PhD student on Tuesday morning. A university spokesperson confirmed in a brief statement that a student was arrested “off-campus” by federal immigration officials but declined to provide further details, citing privacy laws. The Crimson White, the University of Alabama’s student newspaper, reported the arrest, stating that the student was apprehended at his residence. He is reportedly of Iranian nationality, was in the U.S. on a student visa, and was studying mechanical engineering.
The Alabama arrest was confirmed on the same day news surfaced that Rumeysa Ozturk, a PhD student at Tufts University in Boston, was arrested by federal immigration agents and taken to an ICE detention center in Louisiana.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) stated that Ozturk was in the U.S. on a visa and accused her of supporting Hamas, though it provided no evidence to back its claims. Media reports indicated that Ozturk, a Fulbright scholar and Turkish citizen, co-authored an opinion piece in the Tufts student newspaper in March 2024 with three others, calling on the university to “recognize the Palestinian genocide.”
Ozturk’s arrest sparked widespread outrage after the release of surveillance footage showing plainclothes officers stopping her on the street and taking her into custody. The video was captured by a 32-year-old computer engineer who told the Associated Press that “it looked like a kidnapping.”
Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist and recent Columbia University graduate with a green card, was arrested over two weeks ago and remains in detention facing potential deportation. Another case involves Yunseo Chung, a Columbia University student and permanent resident, who is also under threat of deportation due to his involvement in Gaza solidarity protests.
