Students across UC have visas revoked
The State Department terminated several F-1 visa records of international students across the University of California system this month. At least 83 college students across California have had their visas revoked, and at least 54 are University of California (UC) students.
As of April 8, seven UC Santa Barbara students and three recent graduates have had their visa records terminated. Chancellor Henry T. Yang released a statement on Tuesday, which stated the visas were revoked “with no advance notice.”
“We embrace our international students and scholars as essential to making UC Santa Barbara a global crossroads of knowledge, and one of the leading public universities in the world,” the statement read.
Six students at UC Berkeley had their visas revoked, along with five people at UC San Diego, according to NBC News. In addition, seven UC Davis students had their visas revoked, and the visas of five recent graduates were voided. Three students at UC Santa Cruz had their visas canceled. Six current UC Los Angeles students and six former students have also had their visas revoked. The same occurred to two current UC Riverside students and four recent graduates.
The number of students who had their visas revoked at UC Merced is unconfirmed.
“This is a fluid situation, and we continue to monitor and assess its implications for the UC community and the people affected,” an April 4 UC Office of the President statement read. “We are committed to doing what we can to support all members of our community as they exercise their rights under the law. In doing that, the University will continue to follow all applicable state and federal laws.”
UC stops requiring diversity statements in faculty hiring
The UC will no longer require faculty applicants to submit statements on how they have or would contribute to campus diversity.
On March 19, Katherine Newman, UC system provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, sent out a letter stating that the UC Regents decided that standalone diversity statements would no longer be permitted in the application process.
“The requirement to submit a diversity statement may lead applicants to focus on an aspect of their candidacy that is outside their expertise or prior experience,” the letter read. “We can continue to effectively serve communities from a variety of life experiences, backgrounds, and points of view without requiring diversity statements in the hiring process.”
The letter states that applicants can refer to diversity initiatives in other parts of their application, such as interviews.
“Consistent with federal and state law, the University should, and will, continue to provide due recognition to prospective or current employees who wish to share how they have contributed to inclusive excellence,” the letter continued.
The letter doesn’t explicitly name President Donald Trump’s anti-diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) stance. However, the Department of Education released a letter on April 3 regarding DEI policies. State education agencies have 10 days to certify they do not have DEI programs or risk losing federal funding.
A version of this article appeared on p. 2 of the April 10, 2025 edition of the Daily Nexus.
