An El Camino College student’s F-1 visa was revoked last week during spring break, ECC President Brenda Thames said in an announcement at the College Council meeting on Monday, April 21.
Over 1,700 international students from more than 270 colleges and universities have had their F-1 visas revoked as of Wednesday, April 23, according to Inside Higher Ed.
This is the only known revocation of an ECC international student’s visa amid a nationwide rise in student visa revocations. The ECC student was not identified during the meeting.
F-1 visas allow foreign nationals to study at academic institutions in the United States. The recent revocations come after the Trump administration effected two executive orders in January related to visa authorization and enforcement.
Amy Herrschaft, counselor for the International Student Program at ECC, said during the meeting that information received from the federal government about the situation is vague.
Herrschaft said that ECC was given a standard statement which said the action was “background-check related” or a “visa revocation.”
“We just know that [the student’s] records with us, as an international student, are no longer valid,” she said. “But that information is not given to us and limited information is given to the student as well.”
Lillian Justice, registrar at Enrollment Services, said during the meeting that the student is still considered enrolled at ECC.
Several student newspapers at community colleges in California have reported visa revocations happening to students at other institutions.
A visa revocation occurred to one student in the Los Rios Community College District according to the American River Current as of Wednesday, April 9.
Nine students from the Foothill-De Anza Community College District, which operates two colleges in Northern California, had their visas either revoked or terminated, according to La Voz News as of Friday, April 11.
Two students at Pasadena City College had their visas revoked according to the Courier as of Tuesday, April 15.
At Santa Monica College, ten student visas have been “terminated,” according to the Corsair as of Wednesday, April 22.
The number of ECC students holding F-1 visas in fall 2024 was 341, which comprised 1.5% of enrollment, according to the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office Data Mart, an online database of statistics from the state’s two-year colleges.
Thames said the CCCO is collecting information on international student visa revocations from college campuses across the state.
Herrshaft said that some international students may not have access to higher education in their home countries.
“We don’t want to eliminate that opportunity to come here and study on an F-1 visa,” Herrshaft said during the meeting. “I think that it’s a balancing act for sure in terms of making sure we’re continuing to support our students.”
Alireza Ahmadpour, art history professor and College Council facilities steering committee voter, said the campus community should be informed about the revocation.
“I think we should inform the rest of the community, the other students… to see what they can do to stand up for their classmates,” Ahmadpour said. “My point is, we can create movements against this nonsense.”
This is a developing story.
