13 international students at the University of Connecticut have had their visas revoked, according to a university spokesperson. Among them are six undergraduates, six graduates, and one post-graduate student, all at Storrs. Their nationalities are not being released.
They join the nearly 1,000 students with revoked visas nationwide, according to Inside Higher Ed, which has been tracking the cases.
Women’s basketball head coach Geno Auriemma said he hopes his team won’t be impacted. They’ve historically featured international students and will have at least three next season.
“It's a weird time to be in the US, but I'm confident that you know, whether it's with Jana [El Alfy] or with Blanca [Quiñonez] or whoever else down the road — if the goal is to go after the bad people,” Auriemma told reporters after Sunday’s victory parade. “I don't think you're going to find any on my team.”
Auriemma was born in Italy.
“Thank God I became a citizen in 1994, huh? I'd be the first coach deported,” he said.
Multiple Yale students have also had their visas revoked, according to the Yale Daily News.
The Trump administration has said it will deport foreign students who protest the war in Gaza, but some have seen visas revoked for years-old misdemeanors, according to CNN. It’s not clear why the Connecticut students had their visas revoked — the university spokesperson said they did not know.
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong joined a coalition of attorneys general on Monday to sue the Trump administration for its deportation policy.
“This chilling policy pulls from some of the darkest authoritarian playbooks throughout history. We have already seen young international scholars — here 100 percent legally — captured from the streets of their college towns for daring to express views that our President disagrees with. These dangerous and lawless attacks on free speech and political expression will not end here unless the courts step in immediately and forcefully to protect our freedom,” Tong said.
This story has been updated with the specific count of students impacted and more detail.
