© 2025 Connecticut Public

FCC Public Inspection Files:
WEDH · WEDN · WEDW · WEDY
WEDW-FM · WNPR · WPKT · WRLI-FM
Public Files Contact · ATSC 3.0 FAQ
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

4 more UMass Amherst international students have visas revoked by federal immigration officials

Even with travel advisories from colleges recommending international students return to the U.S. before the presidential inauguration, a UMass Amherst graduate student from China is still going home over winter break. The student said she is hoping for the best and will return to the U.S. in February 2025.
Jill Kaufman
/
NEPM
Even with travel advisories from colleges recommending international students return to the U.S. before the presidential inauguration, a UMass Amherst graduate student from China is still going home over winter break. The student said she is hoping for the best and will return to the U.S. in February 2025.

The visas of four more international students who attend the University of Massachusetts Amherst have been revoked, according to school officials.

That brings the total since last week to 10 graduates and undergraduates who are expected to leave the country.

"All of them have sought legal counsel... and I think they're weighing their options," said Ken Reade, the executive director of Immigration Services in the university's office of Global Affairs.

"It's fluid at the moment," he said.

While Reade would not give specifics he said some students have already left the U.S., and they came to UMass Amherst from several different countries.

"There is no pattern of a particular region or nationality that's being singled out," Reade said. "I think it's important to underscore that there does not appear to be anything that is a political or ideological focus on the particular countries."

The countries are not part of past Trump administration travel bans Reade said, and there is no evidence that the students' visas were cancelled because of on campus protests or social media posts.

A number of international students at colleges in Massachusetts and other states have had their visas revoked by immigration officials for unspecified reasons.

Initially it was reported that five university of Massachusetts Amherst international students had their visas revoked and student statuses terminated by the federal government.

This was according to Chancellor Javier Reyes in a letter addressed to the UMass community Friday.

This is a developing story.

Jill Kaufman has been a reporter and host at NEPM since 2005. Before that she spent 10 years at WBUR in Boston, producing The Connection with Christopher Lydon, and reporting and hosting. Jill was also a host of NHPR's daily talk show The Exchange and an editor at PRX's The World.

Federal funding is gone.

Congress has eliminated all funding for public media.

That means $2.1 million per year that Connecticut Public relied on to deliver you news, information, and entertainment programs you enjoyed is gone.

The future of public media is in your hands.

All donations are appreciated, but we ask in this moment you consider starting a monthly gift as a Sustainer to help replace what’s been lost.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

Federal funding is gone.

Congress has eliminated all funding for public media.

That means $2.1 million per year that Connecticut Public relied on to deliver you news, information, and entertainment programs you enjoyed is gone.

The future of public media is in your hands.

All donations are appreciated, but we ask in this moment you consider starting a monthly gift as a Sustainer to help replace what’s been lost.

Related Content