Temple student whose visa was revoked has self-deported, university says

Susan Snyder, The Philadelphia Inquirer on Apr 2, 2025

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PHILADELPHIA — A Temple University student whose visa has been revoked has chosen to self-deport, the university said in a campus message Wednesday.

The university said the visa was “revoked at the discretion of the United States Secretary of State,” but did not release details about the student or the student’s home country, why the visa was revoked, or if the student had participated in pro-Palestinian campus protests.

But it comes amid the federal government’s efforts to deport students who have been involved in pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses, as well as for other reasons. A University of Minnesota student recently had his visa pulled because of a drunken driving infraction, according to news reports.

Martyn J. Miller, Temple’s assistant vice president of global engagement, said he was not aware of any protest activity by the Temple student or any other violations that would have affected the student’s status. While the student received an email notification about the visa revocation, the student was given no reason, he said.

Temple president John A. Fry said in the message that the school discovered the revocation during a routine review of student records and informed the student.

“The university has done all it can do to support the student, including ensuring access to legal counsel and communication with officials from their home country,” he said. “In this particular case, the student has elected to return home.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said last week that he had revoked about 300 visas of students, visitors, and others for their views on foreign policies and their actions, including protesting.

“What we have seen on campuses across the country where students literally cannot go to school … buildings are being taken over, activities going on — this is clearly an organized movement,“ Rubio said. ”And if you are in this country on a student visa and are a participant in those movements, we have a right to deny your visa."

The Trump administration has already conducted high-profile moves to deport students from Columbia and Tufts Universities. The Tufts student, who was from Turkey, was surrounded by officers on a sidewalk and swept away. A doctoral student at Cornell University, a postdoctoral fellow at Georgetown University, and a Harvard University researcher are among others who faced actions, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education.

The Times of India last week reported that hundreds of international students in the United States got an email from the Department of State directing them to self-deport because of their involvement in campus activism.

The Temple student is the first locally known to have been targeted for visa revocation, though the reason is not clear. The University of Pennsylvania and Swarthmore College, where there were high-profile protests and encampments last spring, have not had cases, spokespeople said.

Miller said that since Rubio’s message last week, Temple has been checking status records.

In a message to the campus community last week, Fry acknowledged the unease that the federal government’s actions were causing.

“News like this is distressing and frightening, especially for international members of our community,” Fry said. “Please know that if a similar situation were to arise here at Temple University, we are committed to doing all we lawfully can to assist our students in these circumstances.”

In his message Wednesday, he again recognized that the news about the student’s visa revocation is “deeply alarming.” The university, he said, has received no reports of federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers coming onto campus.

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