Trump administration revokes multiple international student visas at Pitt and other Pennsylvania universities

This week, international students at the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University, among other Pennsylvania colleges have had their visas revoked by the Trump administration. 

On Wednesday, April 9, provost and senior vice chancellor Joseph J. McCarthy sent an email to the Pitt public notifying them that one Pitt graduate student and two recent graduates have had their student visas revoked. The students had their records in the Student and Exchange Visitor Program terminated by the Trump administration. 

In the message, McCarthy said that the university is in “regular contact” with “documented international populations, students and scholars through our Office of International Services.” According to McCarthy, the OIS has contacted the three affected Pitt students to “offer support.”

The message noted that, while they know rumors of ICE presences have spread across campus, there have been no accounts of immigration agencies or authorities coming to Pitt. The University said that “specific instructions were shared with deans, presidents and University center directors regarding how to coordinate with University resources if such a visit occurs.”

Pitt declares itself as a “university of the world,” with international students from 112 countries studying at Pitt, according to the Pitt Global. In the 2023-24 academic year, 3,200 international students were enrolled at Pitt. 

The University urged students with questions or concerns about immigration policies at Pitt to reach out to the OIS. 

“As we take next steps together, I want to reiterate and reaffirm our support for members of Pitt’s international community,” McCarthy wrote in the email. 

Pitt joined other Pennsylvania universities in recent international student visa revocations. On Thursday, April 3, Penn State University similarly announced that several international students had their visas revoked. 

In a letter from Sabine Klahr, interim vice provost of Penn State Global, the university advised students that they may be approached by ICE and other federal officers. The letter provided guidelines for students in case that scenario arises. 

On Monday, April 7, both CMU and the University of Pennsylvania also announced that multiple students had their international visas revoked by the Trump administration. 

CMU Provost James H. Garrett Jr. and Dean of Students Gina Casalegno shared that these visas were revoked late last week and that the university has reached out to the affected students with legal support. The email said that CMU is “not aware of any recent presence of immigration authorities on our campus.”

Penn Vice Provost for Global Initiatives Ezekiel Emanuel and Vice Provost for University Life Karu Kozuma said in their letter to the public that, while they are aware of on-campus “reports of encounters with ICE agents,” federal agents have not come to campus regarding visa revocations.

According to the email sent to the Penn community, the student visa revocations were a result of “immigration status violations” through the SEVIS database. The database is an online system managed by the Department of Homeland Security which tracks the records of international students in the United States.