Amid the terminations of international students’ visas across the United States, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) terminated the records of three Emory University alumni and one current student's visas on April 8, according to an email from Interim Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Lanny Liebeskind.
Liebeskind confirmed that Emory’s Office of International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) has contacted the affected individuals and will provide support as needed. At this time, it is unknown if ICE has deported any Emory students or alumni.
ISSS “regularly monitors” student visa statuses, which is how they discovered the changes to the individuals’ visa records, according to Liebeskind. ISSS helps international students at Emory, providing them with immigration advice, programming and additional support. The office uses the federal Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) to keep track of student and sponsored alumni visa statuses.
“If we become aware of additional SEVIS terminations, ISSS will communicate directly with impacted individuals on an ongoing basis,” Liebeskind wrote.
Emory was sponsoring the three alumni’s visas so that they could “complete post-graduation practical training,” according to the email.
In Georgia, ICE has arrested about 1,500 individuals allegedly without proper documentation since January. Without visas, international students at Emory are at risk of being deported by ICE.
Ellie Fivas (she/her) (26C) is from Cleveland, Tenn., and is majoring in political science and history on the pre-law track. She manages the Wheel’s opinion section and the Editorial Board. When she is not writing for her political column Electoral Ellie, she works in prison education, leads a human rights club and works at the Emory Writing Center. In her free time, you can find her reading trashy romances and The New York Times, basking on the Quadrangle and doing crossword puzzles.
