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Visas revoked for more than 3 dozen California university students and alumni

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the government has revoked at least 300 student visas after high-profile detainments of several pro-Palestinian scholars.
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Stanford University is the latest California school to report that the visas of several students and alumni have been revoked as part of a sweeping crackdown by the Trump administration.

Stanford confirmed in a statement Sunday that the visas of four students and two recent graduates had been revoked.

“The University learned of the revocations during a routine check of the [Student and Exchange Visitor Information System] database,” it said. “Stanford notified the students of the revocations and made external legal assistance available to them.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said last month that the State Department has revoked 300 or more students’ visas, seeming to target foreign-born students who participate in political activism. Several high-profile pro-Palestinian scholars have been detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The visas of more than three dozen students and alumni of California universities have been nullified in the last week. Schools did not provide details, citing privacy concerns.

The University of California, the state's largest public university system, said it was aware of changes to the statuses of international students across multiple campuses.

"This is a fluid situation, and we continue to monitor and assess its implications for the UC community and the people affected," the University of California administration said. "We are committed to doing what we can to support all members of our community as they exercise their rights under the law."

The University of California administration referred NBC News to individual schools to ascertain how many students were affected at each campus.

The student visas of six people who attended the University of California, Berkeley, campus were also revoked. The school said in a statement Monday that one undergraduate student, three graduate students and two alumni were affected.

The two UC Berkeley alumni were in the United States under the STEM Optional Practical Training Extension program, which allowed for 24-month extensions for foreign students to work in related fields.

"Campus officials (and the University of California) are committed to doing what they can to support all members of our community as they exercise their rights under the law," UC Berkeley said. "In doing so, the university will continue to follow all applicable state and federal laws."

The visas of five additional students were revoked at the University of California, San Diego. At the University of California, Davis, the visas of seven students and five recent graduates were voided.

"The federal government has not explained the reasons behind these terminations," UC Davis said in a statement. "We recognize that these actions are distressing for many in our campus community. We expect this situation to remain fluid, and we continue to closely monitor and assess its implications."

The University of California, Irvine, did not specify the number of students or alumni affected by the Trump administration's student visa changes in a statement about the issue. It said it was "providing guidance and resources to support our community through these developments."

UC Irvine did not immediately respond to a request for information about how many members of its community had their visas revoked.

The Daily Bruin, a student newspaper for UCLA, reported over the weekend that "multiple" students on its campus were affected.

UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk confirmed in a statement Sunday that the visas of six currently enrolled students were revoked and that the OPT visas of six recent graduates were terminated.

"We recognize that these actions can bring feelings of tremendous uncertainty and anxiety to our community," Frenk wrote. "We want our immigrant and international UCLA students, staff and faculty to know we support your ability to work, learn, teach and thrive here."