Five other students at Minnesota State University, Mankato have had their student visas terminated, The Minnesota Star Tribune reported Wednesday night.
Mankato State University president Edward Inch said in a Wednesday night statement neither the university nor the students were notified of the termination of their Student Exchange Visitor Information System records, which is used to maintain visa information. According to the statement, staff discovered the terminations after running a status check.
MSU-Mankato history professor Jameel Haque said in a statement to the Star Tribune that the students have not been detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), but rather asked to self-deport within 60 days.
This follows the recent ICE detainments of two university students — Dogukan Gunaydin at the University of Minnesota and an unidentified Mankato state student late last week. The circumstances regarding why these students were arrested are not yet clear.
International students at universities have been arrested and detained across the country in recent months, mostly for demonstrating pro-Palestine activism. According to a statement from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, over 300 protestors have been arrested for engaging in destabilizing activity.
“We gave you a visa to come and study and get a degree, not to become a social activist that tears up our university campuses,” Rubio said in the statement. “If we have given you a visa and then you decide to do that, we’re going to take it away.”