US universities help foreign students weather Trump deportations

University faculty, academic groups take to court to sue Trump administration over student targeting

Leo Gerden, an international student at Harvard, speaks at a protest on Cambridge Common organised by the City of Cambridge calling on Harvard leadership to resist interference at the university by the federal government in Cambridge, Massachusetts, US Apr 12, 2025. REUTERS/Nicholas Pfosi/File Photo

From warnings not to leave the country to guidance on how to complete degrees, US universities are advising foreign students how to withstand President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown.

First immigration agents arrested students involved in pro-Palestinian protests. Then thousands of foreign students were targeted for deportation over minor offenses and arrests

Now, some university advisors are quietly telling students from abroad to hire a lawyer and keep attending classes while legal appeals play out, according to over two dozen students, immigration attorneys and university officials Reuters spoke to.

University faculty and academic groups have also gone to court to challenge the Trump administration's targeting of their students. Late Thursday, the Presidents' Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration, a group representing American college and university leaders, filed a lawsuit in Boston challenging the termination of foreign students' lawful status.

With a record 1.1 million foreign students in the country, at stake is the $44 billion they contributed to the US economy last year, according to the Association of American Universities, a higher education advocacy group.

It's not just the money. MIT President Sally Kornbluth pointed to global talent, saying hers "is an American university, proudly so – but we would be gravely diminished without the students and scholars who join us from other nations."

INDIANS HIT HARD

Over half of foreign students in the United States are from India and China, according to the Institute of International Education advocacy group.

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement has deleted more than 4,700 names from the Student and Exchange Visitor Information Systems database of visa holders, often citing criminal activity, according to the American Immigration Lawyers Association.

Of those, almost half are Indian students, many of them graduates in work experience known as Optional Practical Training, based on an AILA study of 327 cases.

Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin urged students whose SEVIS status had been revoked to leave.

"If you are in our country illegally, we will arrest, we will deport you, and you will never return," McLaughlin said in a statement.

University officials are telling full-time students to hire a lawyer. Those who contest being deleted from SEVIS would be allowed to continue studying, said an official who advises foreign students at one major university, asking to remain anonymous in order to speak about the situation.

“For the most part, the students I've spoken to, their schools are permitting them to keep attending classes,” said New York immigration attorney Clay Greenberg who is representing students with SEVIS terminations.

Over 200 students removed from SEVIS have won court orders temporarily barring the administration from taking actions against them, according to a Reuters count.

George Mason University in Virginia told students to contact advisors to discuss ways to complete coursework. The University of California is looking for ways for students to continue their education, said Rachel Zaentz, a spokeswoman for the UC Office of the President.

With summer break weeks away, Duke University recently warned international students not to leave the United States over fears they may not be let back in come fall.

STUDENTS WORRY, SELF-DEPORT

After watching videos of pro-Palestinian students picked up by federal agents, foreign students fear deportation for speeding tickets or being fingerprinted, said an Indian computer science grad student at a Southwest US university, who asked not to be named.

Some have self-deported.

Momadou Taal, who led pro-Palestinian protests at Cornell University, left in March after being told to surrender to immigration officials.

"I'll be able to finish up remotely," said Taal, a dual citizen of the UK and Gambia who planned to complete his studies in the United Kingdom.

An Indian student in Georgia said his legal status was revoked after he was identified in criminal records showing he was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol. The charge was dismissed, he said.

"My college is letting me continue," said the computer science undergraduate, adding that he was being careful.

"If I see anyone in a uniform, I turn around," he said, requesting anonymity.