International students and other temporary visa holders are concerned about new immigration policies that may impact and undercut their immigration statuses in the United States. Some of these new policies include language regarding the revocation of visa and even the removal of foreign nationals from the United States that may have violated those new policies. These policies raise several questions. Can the president and the U.S. immigration agencies revoke visas and remove foreign nationals for violations that may have taken place prior to the new policy’s implementation? How would such a policy even be implemented? Will there be arguments these students can make to prevent their loss of status or removal from the United States?

On Jan. 29, 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order titled "Additional Measures to Combat Anti-Semitism." The order reaffirms and builds upon Executive Order 13899, a December 2019 order signed by Trump during his first term with the stated purpose of “combating the rise of anti-Semitism and anti-Semitic incidence in the United States and around the world.” This new order may have important implications for academic institutions and for international students in the United States. The order raises particular concerns for international students who have previously participated in on- or off-campus political demonstrations against Israel’s response to the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas. The White House fact sheet on the new executive order describes the intent of the order: to protect the rights of Jewish citizens; to aggressively enforce the law, protect public order, and prosecute anti-Semitic crimes; and to revoke the student visas of Hamas sympathizers and deport them.