Six De Anza College and three Foothill College students have had their F-1 visas revoked by the federal government, according to emails from college administration, on April 11.
This past week has marked some of the first instances of visa revocation among California community colleges under the Trump administration.
Foothill-De Anza Community College Chancellor Lee Lambert, De Anza College President Omar Torres and Foothill College President Kristina Whalen confirmed the revocations.
Torres wrote in an email to De Anza faculty, “In virtually all of the cases, the official reason for termination was vague, and students have said they were unaware that their authorization to stay in the United States had been revoked.”
According to Torres, International Student Programs is “actively checking student’s records and notifying students if their records have been terminated.”
Aside from those whose visa status has been revoked, international students have reported no notifications from either the De Anza administration or ISP concerning the six revocations.
The incidents follow President Donald Trump’s Jan. 29 executive order, which directed the Department of Homeland Security and State Department to crack down on activities it deems antisemitic or “anti-American.”
The policy has triggered a surge of international student visa revocations, with over 800 cases as of today, according to Inside Higher Ed. This data compiles reports from both student and professional news organizations.
Students in other California community colleges, including at least one student in San Mateo County Community College District, one in Los Rios Community College District and nine at Santa Monica College, also face visa revocations.
Torres and Lambert used “termination” to describe students losing their F-1 visa status in their emails, while Whalen used “revoking.”
Although both terms indicate that students are no longer allowed to remain in the U.S. legally, revocation means that a visa is no longer valid, while termination typically refers to Student and Exchange Visitor Information System records being deactivated.
La Voz has reached out for clarification on the administration’s intended use of terminology.
On Monday, the Foothill-De Anza Board of Trustees passed a resolution designating the district as a “sanctuary district,” a symbolic motion indicating support for undocumented and international students.
The district’s policy on cooperation with Immigration and Customs enforcement, which states that faculty should remain uncooperative with ICE officials and direct them to the college president or chancellor’s office, remains the same.
In an email, Lambert asked faculty to direct international students with questions to Nazy Galoyan, dean of enrollment services and International Student Programs.
Galoyan declined to comment.
This is a developing story.
(Editor’s note: This article was corrected to reflect that the executive order in question was signed on Jan. 29, not Jan. 19. It was also changed to clarify that while ISP did not alert all international students of the six visa revocations, they sent an email containing advice on how to maintain legal visa status.)