At least nine students between the University of Colorado and Colorado State University have had their visas revoked by the Department of Homeland Security, spokespeople for the schools have said.
The University of Colorado says four students and CSU says five students had their F-1 visas — which allow international students to study at U.S. universities — revoked. CU said this impacted students at its Boulder and Colorado Springs campuses and the visas were revoked by the Department of Homeland Security.
It’s not yet clear if any of the students whose visas were revoked in Colorado are accused of any crimes or why their visas were revoked.
“At CU we are focused on supporting the success of all of our students, including international students,” a CU spokesperson told CBS News Colorado. “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.”
Both schools said they wouldn’t identify the impacted students, citing privacy concerns.
The Colorado School of Mines, Metropolitan State University, and the University of Denver said none of their students were impacted.
The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but last week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that 300 student visas have been revoked. Many, if not all, of those revocations were related to students who participated in campus protests, despite questions about due process and First Amendment objections.
“If you apply for a visa to enter the United States and be a student, and you tell us that the reason why you’re coming to the United States is not just because you want to write op-eds, but because you want to participate in movements that are involved in doing things like vandalizing universities, harassing students, taking over buildings, creating a ruckus, we’re not going to give you a visa,” Rubio said. “If you lie to us and get a visa, then enter the United States, and with that visa, participate in that sort of activity, we’re going to take away your visa.”
Rubio continued that if a student then lost their visa, “you’re no longer legally in the United States. And we have a right, like every country in the world has a right, to remove you from our country.”
His comments come in response to questions about the high-profile arrests of students, including Mahmoud Khalil, Rumeysa Ozturk, and Alireza Doroudi.