(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) The University of Utah campus is picture on Tuesday, Feb. 4. 2025.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) The University of Utah campus on Tuesday, Feb. 4. 2025. At least 20 international students at the U. have received letters from the Trump administration revoking their visas to be in the United States and instructing them to self-deport.
At least 20 international students and recent graduates at the University of Utah have had their visas revoked — receiving letters from President Donald Trump’s administration instructing them to immediately “self-deport.”
The revocations started early last week, spurring confusion and fear. The state’s flagship school disclosed an initial count of 17 students for the first time Tuesday; by Wednesday afternoon, it was aware of at least 20 receiving notification. It is one of the largest tallies, so far, for a single university since the federal government began its nationwide efforts to terminate students’ legal residency status.
The Tribune reached out to each of the state’s eight public colleges and universities to understand the impact across Utah. According to the schools, as of Wednesday morning, more than 50 students across the state have been affected.
A spokesperson for Weber State University in Ogden confirmed five students there have seen their visas revoked. Snow College in central Utah reported two students.
Both Salt Lake Community College and Utah Valley University each have three students impacted, and both Utah Tech University and Southern Utah University reported nine students.
Utah State University in Logan also said it has students affected but is “not providing exact numbers in order to protect the privacy of affected students.”
In total, about 300 visas for international students and recent graduates have been terminated across the country, according to an announcement from U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Those have spanned from private schools, like Harvard University, to public schools, like Ohio State University and the University of California system.
According to a copy of a letter sent to U. students that The Salt Lake Tribune obtained, it says: “Remaining in the United States without a lawful immigration status can result in fines, detention, and/or deportation. It may also make you ineligible for a future U.S. visa. Please note that deportation can take place at a time that does not allow the person being deported to secure possessions or conclude affairs in the United States.”
It also says the student, if deported, may be sent somewhere that is not their home country. It advises them to leave voluntarily instead and reapply at a later time for a new visa.
At the U., about half of the impacted students are from China; the others from the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Some are freshmen. Other schools did not immediately have or provide more information.
“As a public institution of higher education, the University of Utah follows state and federal law,” the U. said in a statement. “We are currently in a period of enhanced immigration enforcement.”
The U. is likely to be the most impacted in the state by the federal effort to target international student visas. The school has the highest number of enrolled international students, at 3,138 this past fall, as well as the highest percentage overall, with international students making up 9% of the student population.
That’s largely because the U. recruits worldwide for its renowned medical and research programs — which have also been the focus of funding cuts by the Trump administration.
The Tribune has also contacted the state’s two main private schools — Brigham Young University and Westminster University. BYU did not immediately respond, but a spokesperson for Westminster said the school has been in touch with its international students and “to our knowledge we do not have any students whose visas have been revoked.” There are 35 international students currently at the small Salt Lake City school.
Overall, there are more than 9,000 international students combined across the 10 main public and private higher education institutions in the state.
U. President Taylor Randall, along with his top two administrators, released a letter Wednesday to the campus that said, in part: “Our 3,000 international students and scholars are an essential part of what makes the University of Utah the place that it is — a vibrant and creative community of people of different life experiences, geographies, faiths and perspectives.”
They urged faculty to be flexible with all international students as they finish their coursework this semester.
Like most schools, the U. is also unaware of what is driving the decisions. Most of the students affected do not have criminal records. Some have had some traffic infractions. Another was arrested and accused of trying to climb a fence at Dugway Proving Ground; The Tribune could not immediately obtain more information on that case.
Outside of that, there doesn’t appear to be any direct cause. Some of the letters that have gone out only list the reason as “otherwise failing to maintain status.”
The Trump administration has been targeting students nationwide who participated in a wave of pro-Palestine protests last spring. That included detaining a Columbia University student, Mahmoud Khalil, who is a green card-holder and who led protests on his campus. And Rubio has directed staff to comb through social media posts for anything pro-Palestine and anti-Israel to find cases.
At the U., no cases seem to be connected to the protest and later encampment on campus last April, where police came in wearing riot gear and 21 individuals were ultimately arrested. No one has been charged.
The school’s International Student and Scholar Services is reaching out to each affected student individually to support them. The office has also sent out resources, generally, to all international students, with information on how to remain in good standing and legal resources to contact, if needed.
It states: “We are committed to keeping you informed and supported as we navigate these changes together.”
The office also recommends that all international students carry copies of their I-94 record, visa documentation and passport stamps with them at all times.
Staff there are advising that students not leave the country if they don’t need to. “Although there are no current travel bans, new travel restrictions or policy changes may be implemented with little or no warning, which could affect your ability to reenter the U.S.,” the message notes.
The U. has offered counseling services, too, for those distressed by the situation. And its international services office can be reached at international@utah.edu or 801-581-8876.
The students here and across the country have all had their visas revoked and their records in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, or SEVIS, terminated. That system is maintained by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, allowing federal officers to track whether a student has legal status.
Students have to meet a series of requirements to get a visa. That includes proving admission to a U.S. school, filing an application and being interviewed. They also must show they have financial support for their studies and stay in good academic standing.
Visas typically can be revoked if a student is not maintaining their full-time enrollment status, violates work agreements or is deemed a security risk.
In the past, when a student’s visa has been revoked, they have stayed in the SEVIS system and been allowed to finish their studies before leaving the country.
The Trump administration, though, has quietly taken that additional SEVIS termination step, with little notice to schools on which students’ records have been terminated. Schools are now monitoring the system themselves so they can inform students if their status has changed.
Trump has also instructed immigration officers that they can enter previous “sensitive locations,” such as schools and hospitals, to make arrests.
A student group at the U., Mecha — which is largely led by and for students of color — organized the pro-Palestine protest on campus last spring. Members attended the school’s board of trustees’ meeting Tuesday to call for the school to become a “sanctuary campus,” not allowing immigration officers to step foot there. An accompanying petition has garnered more than 1,000 signatures.
As a public institution, however, the school cannot legally block federal officers from entering its grounds. On its website explaining recent federal changes, the U. notes, though, that its officers “do not have any agreements with ICE and do not expect to be called upon to enforce immigration law.”