Are Student Protesters a Factor?
Some visa terminations appear linked to recent campus protests against the U.S. support of Israel in the Gaza conflict.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed that the State Department was revoking visas of visitors “acting counter to national interests,” which reportedly included foreign nationals participating in disruptive or potentially unlawful demonstrations.
Legal experts caution that while political speech is protected under the First Amendment, visa holders are not U.S. citizens and are subject to different rules under the visa program.
Legal Limbo for OPT Workers
Adding further complexity, many affected individuals are not students at all—but recent graduates working under the Optional Practical Training program. OPT allows international graduates to work in the U.S. for up to three years in their field while awaiting a more permanent work visa.
Currently, around 242,000 people are in the U.S. under OPT, alongside 500,000 graduate students and 342,000 undergraduates.
“These programs were meant for academic enrichment, not long-term immigration or employment pipelines,” said a DHS source. “We now have evidence that some participants are abusing the system to overstay, engage in fraud, or worse.”
