Visas for 3 University of Chicago students, 4 recent grads revoked by feds, school says

CHICAGO - The federal government has revoked the visas for three current University of Chicago students and four recent graduates, the school said.

What we know:

All seven individuals had been in the country and studying at the South Side university under F-1 visas, according to a spokesperson.

The university’s Office of International Affairs learned that the Student and Exchange Visitor Program status of each student had been terminated during an audit of their records.

The school has connected the affected individuals with immigration attorneys, the spokesperson said.

What we don't know:

It was unclear exactly why the visas had been revoked or if the students would face possible deportation.

Immigration attorney Bob White said in the last two weeks, more than 1,000 international students have had their visas revoked and their student records terminated.

"The grounds is possibly criminal offense in the past, but there's also many students with no criminal offenses who also are having their visas revoked," said White, with Masuda, Funai, Eifert & Mitchell, Ltd. "It's very unprecedented that you have both a visa revocation and a status termination because one doesn't necessarily lead to another. And it's just not the proper procedure."

He said the students have three options: to self-deport and reapply for a visa, stay in the U.S. and apply for reinstatement or sue the government.

What they're saying:

In a statement, the university spokesperson said:

"The University of Chicago is committed to continued deep engagement and active exchange with international students, scholars, and visitors. The University has a long history of supporting America’s position as a magnet for talented people from across the globe, and we will continue to work to assist the members of our international community."

Big picture view:

This is just the latest in a series of instances around the U.S. of college students visiting from other countries seeing their legal status terminated.

Other universities, including Northwestern and the University of Illinois, both in Champaign and in Chicago, told FOX 32 they too have international students who have had their visas revoked recently.

College leaders have said the government has been quietly terminating students' visas with little notice to students or schools, according to The Associated Press.

Other schools that have discovered changes in their students' legal status include Harvard, Stanford, Michigan, UCLA and Ohio State University.

The Trump administration has targeted students who had been involved with pro-Palestinian activism or speech, with a few high-profile detentions of students, including Mahmoud Khalil, a green card holder who was a leader of protests at Columbia University.

White told FOX 32 that to his knowledge, no local international students have been detained by ICE, but that has happened to a student in Minnesota.