Student visas revoked; UW-Milwaukee groups protest
13 UWM students have visas revoked
UW-Milwaukee student groups are protesting after more than a dozen international students and graduates had their visas revoked
MILWAUKEE - University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee student groups are protesting after more than a dozen international students and graduates recently had their visas revoked.
What we know:
The university said 13 students had their visas revoked. The move is part of a national immigration crackdown under President Donald Trump’s administration.
Student-led organizations said they want more transparency.
What they're saying:
Chris Van Valkenberg with UW-Milwaukee’s Students for a Democratic Society is unsettled by news from the university.
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"I feel scared for my classmates, my friends, people I don't know," Van Valkenberg said. "Many of the people I've talked to don't feel safe going to classes, they don't feel safe beyond campus."
Last week, UW-Madison also reported 13 visa revocations. A spokesperson with the University of Wisconsin said he is also aware of three more at other campuses.
UW-Milwaukee professor Rachel Ida Buff said they don't know who these students are, where they are from, or why they lost their visas.
"This really feels like open season on our campuses," she said. "I think that people feel that it's coming out of nowhere, there's nothing they can do to protect themselves, it's not about anything they did [...] People who it didn't happen to feel incredibly vulnerable."
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Meanwhile, UW-Milwaukee said the university played no role in this. They also said they have no reason to believe it's because of free speech or political activity.
"The university respects the right of students to express their views and advocate for the issues they care about," a university spokesperson told FOX6 News.
Dig deeper:
The Department of State said visa revocations are not a new practice and can be necessary to enforce border security.
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But universities across the country say they're still seeing an uptick, and students say they're not sure what the future holds.
An immigration attorney told FOX6 News the only viable remedy for the affected international students will be to file a complaint in federal court.
What you can do:
UW-Milwaukee's Sanctuary Student Alliance started a petition to make the university a "sanctuary campus" to help protect students from ICE raids.
The Source: The information in this post was produced by FOX6 News.