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Colleges scramble over yanked student visas
The Golden State's renowned universities attract students from all over the world. More than 140,000 international students were enrolled in California campuses last school year, according to data from the Institute of International Education.
Some of those students now face an uncertain future after the Trump administration revoked dozens of international student visas beginning Friday, with no apparent warning. That left college leaders scrambling to determine how many of their students are impacted, The Times' Jaweed Kaleem reported Monday, noting that "some tallies have fluctuated multiple times a day."
But the rough estimate based on our reporting so far is that at least 83 students and recent graduates in California have been affected. Most of them are still in the U.S., but their new status opens them up for deportation and other enforcement.
That's what happened to one UC San Diego student, who was "detained at the border, denied entry and deported to their home country," Chancellor Pradeep Khosla wrote in a campus message.
"Federal immigration authorities generally only detain individuals when they are a public danger or flight risk but the Trump administration has at times taken more aggressive actions," Jaweed noted. "Schools have not reported federal immigration authorities on campuses."
Revocations have been reported on several campuses across the state, including UCLA, UC Irvine, UC San Diego, UC Santa Cruz, UC Berkeley, UC Davis, and Stanford.
Students pass by the Bruin statue at UCLA on March 23, 2023. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
"The termination notices indicate that all terminations were due to violations of the terms of the individuals' visa programs," UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk wrote in a campus message Sunday.
Among the state's CSU campuses, the visas of 32 students had been revoked as of midday Monday, a spokesperson for the chancellor's office told me. The spokesperson declined to share details, citing privacy laws.
Meanwhile, USC officials have thus far "declined to state whether student visas were canceled at the campus, which is home to more than 17,000 international students, the largest concentration at any California school," Jaweed noted.
It's unclear why exactly the affected students were targeted for revocation. After headline-making detainments and deportations elsewhere in the U.S., federal officials alleged "pro-Hamas" activities by foreign students who had protested Israel's war in Palestine. But campus members told Jaweed that there doesn't appear to be a connection to cases in California.
A State Department spokesperson told The Times in a written statement that the U.S. "has zero tolerance for non-citizens who violate U.S. laws," but did not give specifics about visa cancellations in California.
"Those who break the law, including students, may face visa refusal, visa revocation, and/or deportation," the spokesperson wrote. "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."
Some affected students are already fighting back. Two filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration in Los Angeles federal court over the weekend, arguing their revocations were illegal and claiming their only legal violations had been minor driving-related infractions.
In their complaint, their lawyers argue the federal actions are "designed to coerce students ... into abandoning their studies and 'self-deporting.'"
You can read more about the revocations and campuses' responses in Jaweed's ongoing reporting.
Today's top stories
A construction worker in Tijuana near the barrier that features new concertina wire along the U.S. and Mexico border near San Ysidro. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
With hopes for asylum in the U.S. dashed, migrants in Tijuana ponder their next moves
- Migrants who had hoped to apply for asylum, a legal process, now debate whether to attempt crossing illegally.
- With no way to legally enter the U.S., the mood among migrants still in Tijuana has shifted from cautious optimism to hopelessness. Shelters are no longer full, and directors say those who remain are among the most vulnerable.
The Supreme Court pauses a wrongful deportation case at the behest of Trump lawyers
- The Supreme Court granted a temporary pause on a judge's order requiring the Trump administration to return a Maryland man who was wrongly deported to El Salvador.
- "My husband, Kilmar, was abducted by the U.S. government," Jennifer Vasquez Sura told reporters at a rally Friday. "In the blink of an eye, our three children lost their father, and I lost the love of my life."
Tesla shares drop amid auto tariffs and a 'brand crisis'
- Shares have plunged nearly 40% since the beginning of the year and have fallen 55% from a record high in December.
- The stock soared with Trump's victory over Kamala Harris in November's presidential election, as many believed Musk's association with the president-elect would bolster Tesla's value.
What else is going on
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This morning's must read
A U.S. Army honor guard folds a flag to be given to relatives of Joe Harris after the World War II veteran's burial at Inglewood Park Cemetery on Saturday. (David Butow / For The Times)
He fought racism and fascism: A 108-year-old WWII paratrooper who paved path for Black soldiers dies. Sgt. Joe Harris lived a beautiful life, Times reporter Nathan Solis writes. He sailed to earth on numerous missions as a member of the U.S. Army's first all-Black paratrooper battalion during World War II, the 555th, aptly nicknamed the "Triple Nickles." At his funeral service Saturday, friends, families and uniformed members of the military danced and sang to honor Harris, believed to be oldest paratrooper veteran when he died March 15.
How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com.
For your downtime
Drinks from the new ChaTraMue OC in Westminster, including a matcha green tea latte, rose milk tea, vegan assam milk tea and a bucket of Thai tea. (Jenn Harris / Los Angeles Times)
Going out
Staying in
A question for you: What's your favorite thing to do during spring in California?
Email us at essentialcalifornia@latimes.com, and your response might appear in the newsletter this week.
And finally ... your photo of the day
Show us your favorite place in California! Send us photos you have taken of spots in California that are special — natural or human-made — and tell us why they're important to you.
Northern elephant seals washed ashore at Año Nuevo State Park in Pescadero, Calif. (Erika Brown)
Today's great photo is from Erika Brown of Berkeley: Año Nuevo State Park.
Erika writes: "Año Nuevo State Park is gorgeous. In early winter, it also becomes one of the rare locations where northern elephant seals come to breed, birth, and brawl."
Have a great day, from the Essential California team
Ryan Fonseca, reporter
Andrew Campa, Sunday reporter
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Hunter Clauss, multiplatform editor
Christian Orozco, assistant editor
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters
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