PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A Temple University student has had their visa revoked by the U.S. State Department, according to the university’s president. The incident has many students feeling uneasy.
In a statement issued Wednesday to students and faculty, Temple President John Fry said the university does not know what reasoning the State Department had for using its discretion to revoke the student’s visa. Fry also did not identify the student, their major, their class, nor their country of origin, but said the student chose to go home.
“I recognize that news like this is deeply alarming. This is true for all Temple students, faculty and staff but it is especially true for international members of our community,” wrote Fry.
“There was … a lot of ‘This couldn’t be happening here,’ which is a phrase that we’ve all been kind of saying to ourselves, ‘This couldn’t happen here,’ and now it really is,” said student Christopher Birkenstamm about receiving Wednesday afternoon’s email.
“I thought that it was very vague and there was a gross lack of clarity that I think is just gonna foster fear instead of quell it on campus.”
Fry’s email did refer students to counseling resources, as is common practice for potentially traumatic announcements. He also said Temple is providing the student with academic, emotional, and legal support.
This comes after Fry sent an email last Friday warning students about the State Department revoking hundreds of student visas nationwide. In that message, he said Temple was “committed to doing all it lawfully can to assist” in a similar situation. However, Aidan Keller thinks the school’s administration should be doing more.
“[The statement] did feel a little bit hollow. I would say the majority of students here are very opposed to [the visa revocation], and I think an action where they stand behind the students is something that needs to happen,” Keller said.
Fry said Temple has not received any reports of Immigration and Customs Enforcement or Customs and Border Protection officers on campus.
I've had people that I'm close to that might be impacted by this,” said Keller. “They're trying to just keep it low, but they're just really scared for what's going on right now.”