WSU international student records reinstated after Trump reverses course on visas

The Trump administration reversed course on student visas this week and reinstated revoked student exchange records at Washington State University – but the affected students have already left the country out of fear.

WSU reported three student visa revocations and student record terminations earlier this month, according to a letter sent to students and staff amid President Donald Trump’s continued focus on deporting immigrants and his administration’s wave of student visa revocations across the nation. More than a week later, two out of three exchange records that allow the students to maintain a lawful presence in the U.S. were restored, with no notification or explanation from the government.

“Our two students who were still actively enrolled both went back to their home countries last week because of the fear of being picked up by ICE,” said Paul Whitney, interim vice president of international programs. “The stress it caused – they wanted to get home. We are working with them on how to complete their semester. Whether they want to come back, we don’t know.”

When WSU staff was combing the school’s international student records, they noticed the two terminations had been undone. They thought it was an accident, until one of Whitney’s team members forwarded him a news story reporting that the Trump administration had reinstated the records after legal concerns and criticism from schools and judges.

“That’s when we knew it was not a mistake,” he said.

Trump has long promised to deport immigrants with violent crime convictions, but Whitney said in a previous interview with The Spokesman-Review that the new standard appeared, instead, to be deporting an international student for a low-level offense like a DUI or speeding ticket, something that would not have gotten them sent home in the past.

The abrupt student record terminations “threw everyone into chaos,” Whitney said.

“In addition to the stress, the effects were far beyond that,” he said. “My hope is with this reversal, the students who remain here, who were very anxious not knowing what is next; this will increase confidence of students here and give people confidence they wont be treated in an arbitrary and capricious manner.”

Whitney acknowledged that while the damage is already done – there are some students who remain too fearful to regain confidence in the system – it’s a somewhat positive step towards keeping international students at WSU.

“The world is made better by having international students here,” he said.

University of Idaho and Gonzaga University also reported multiple visa revocations and student record terminations this month. As of Friday, spokespeople at Gonzaga and UI said one student at each of their schools whose terminated status was undone had it reinstated.

“Gonzaga continues to monitor the federal system for any changes in the visa status of our international students while providing support to those impacted and our entire international student community,” a school spokesperson said.