U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) has sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security after dozens of student visas were terminated without notice.
Blumenthal sent a letter Thursday to Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Acting Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Todd Lyons.
In the letter, Blumenthal requested an explanation for why ICE has revoked hundreds of student visas nationwide. He said dozens of students in Connecticut had their legal status terminated without warning or explanation. He said the Trump administration must provide information with details and wants due process for these students.
“I am demanding answers as to why these visas have been revoked, what the number is, what type of visas, all of the information that so far has been hidden from the public,” Blumenthal said.
It’s estimated that at least 53 student visas have been revoked at colleges and universities across the state. Yale University and Quinnipiac University are among the schools whose student visas have been revoked.
New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker said the city is home to several public and private universities. Elicker said the city would do what it could to protect the students from universities in New Haven.
“I’m glad to be here to tell the students, we got your back. We will fight on behalf of anyone that is a target by the Trump administration,” Elicker said.
Blumenthal said Connecticut has some of the top public and private institutions in the country. He is concerned that these sudden revocations will have a detrimental impact on retaining international students in the future.
“These seemingly arbitrary revocations and terminations made without notice or explanation seem deliberately designed to have a chilling effect on student visa holders, which will impact our nation’s ability to attract and retain international talent, which will result in a net loss for our students and our communities,” Blumenthal said.
