Federal government revokes dozens of CSU and UC student visas, including at UC Merced

MERCED, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – Dozens of international students across the state have had their visas revoked, but many are unsure why.

The deportations come alongside the Trump Administration’s promise to deport a record number of people. Since President Donald Trump took office, dozens of CSU and UC students have had visas revoked.

“If I was them, I wouldn’t know what to do. It’s kind of like, ‘Why? What do you do next,’” UC Merced Sophomore Pranav Aditya said.

As of Tuesday afternoon, 36 CSU students and at least 28 UC students were swept up in the effort.

That includes four students from UC Merced.

“Coming from a mixed-status household family, it is something that I dealt with my whole life,” UC Merced Senior Ashley Alvarado Barragan said.

She says the students came to the country legally through visas, so she doesn’t understand why they can’t stay.

Talking about it made her emotional.

“Obviously, it’s a very hard moment for them, and I don’t even know what to say because it’s like you want to get your education, you want to succeed, and then you just can’t,” Alvarado Barragan said.

Last summer, UC Merced students camped out, protesting the war in Gaza.

They hoped to bend the federal government’s ear, but now Alvarado Barragan thinks they are being punished.

“All of us students just want to work. We want to study. You know, some of us who have come from other countries – we want to work. That’s all we want,” UC Merced PHD student Sarina Rodriguez said.

The Trump Administration has said its goal is to deport convicted felons and illegal immigrants.

What some don’t understand is why students with visas and allegedly clean backgrounds are being deported.

“Don’t attack academics,” Rodriguez pleaded.

YourCentralValley.com reached out to UC Merced and Fresno State for their comments on this situation.

They say that due to privacy laws, they cannot provide any further insight or information.