Republican questions Trump’s student visa crackdown: “They’re our guests”

A Republican senator has appeared to question the Trump administration’s decision to revoke the visas of several college students in his state.

Senator James Lankford (R-OK) emphasized the need for fairness, arguing that international students deserve due process and respect as guests in the United States.

“We’re asking the State Department to say, ‘Hey, help us understand this particular visa,'” Lankford told KFOR. “I do understand if a student’s here they’ve gotta follow American law, they can’t challenge American way of life, they’re our guests. But we want to make sure [when] they’re our guest we’re also treating them fairly in the process.”

Why It Matters

The Trump administration has announced plans to revoke visas for foreign students linked to the pro-Palestine movement, including involvement in campus protests and distributing materials such as flyers. It is part of President Donald Trump’s executive order targeting antisemitism. However, the move has sparked criticism from some who argue it infringes on First Amendment rights, particularly regarding free speech.

What To Know

Lankford said state officials were unable to locate any disciplinary record for at least one Oklahoma student who had been informed their visa was revoked by the State Department.

Last week, Oklahoma State University confirmed that visas had been revoked for eight of its international students. The University of Central Oklahoma reported four similar cases. Meanwhile, the University of Oklahoma declined to provide details, citing Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) restrictions, according to the OU Daily, the student-run newspaper.

According to Inside Higher Ed, over 1,000 international students have had their visas revoked.

Just last week, it was reported that more than 500 international students have had their visas revoked in the U.S. amid a wave of federal database removals as the Trump administration ramps up its crackdown on universities, according to Nafsa, a network of universities and individuals involved in international education and exchanges.

The Department of Homeland Security and the State Department are implementing a series of nationwide measures impacting university students. Many institutions remain unaware that their students have been affected.

DHS said in a statement that it would begin screening international students’ social media for “antisemitic” content. The statement referenced two executive orders from Trump as the basis for this action.

Some of the more widely known visa revocations were linked to pro-Palestinian protests. In many instances, universities have not been provided with any explanations.

What People Are Saying

Lankford told KFOR: “Some of them, we understand, there were some discipline problems on campus. But there’s a couple students—I won’t name the school right now—but there’s a student that we can’t find any discipline problem that was an issue.”

What Happens Next

It is expected that the Trump administration will revoke the visas of more students in the country as they look to fulfill the president’s pledge to carry out the largest deportation operation in U.S. history.