This story was initially published May 16, 2025 by The Wichita Eagle.
Wichita State University is persisting in not saying publicly how many of its international students have had their visas revoked since the Trump administration took office earlier this year.
That’s as professors are pressuring the university to clarify what rights international students have on campus and to help students who are stuck in legal limbo from their visas being rescinded.
“Give some comfort to our students so they don’t feel that they’re not welcome no more, or they’re threatened by deportation or whatever,” Professor Gamal Weheba said. “But we got silence.”
Weheba authored a letter from Wichita State’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors calling for protections for the students earlier this month. The letter also called for the university to clarify how many students have had their visas rescinded.
The university did confirm that some students had their visas revoked, and some were reinstated recently, but cited the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act when asked for specific numbers by The Wichita Eagle.
The university’s international student office website says about 1,750 international students are enrolled at the university.
“Due to the small number of affected students, and the individualized nature of immigration issues and federal privacy protections, the university cannot provide detailed information about specific visa or SEVIS actions,” a statement from the university read.
The Trump administration suddenly canceled thousands of student visas last month. The administration said it was targeting students that had criminal histories. Lawsuits contend some students had minor infractions or traffic violations.
Several universities across the country, including universities in St. Louis and Texas, have made public the exact number of students who have had their visas revoked. The University of Maryland had seven students as of mid-April.
Professors said the university’s silence has caused rumors to spread among international students — with some no longer showing up for class before the semester ended this month.
Weheba said based on what he’s heard from students, at least 27 students have had their visas revoked.
“I think one is too many. 27 is a large number,” Weheba said. “Some of them are scared silly to the levels that some left the country. Some are staying at home, afraid to come attend classes and be arrested.”
The Kansas Chapter of the AAUP has also sent a letter to all of the state’s higher educational institutions.
That letter asks the universities to also support scholars who are affected by immigration issues.
“The Kansas Conference of the AAUP is calling on all colleges and universities within the State of Kansas to take concrete steps to support students and scholars at risk and refuse to assist in this assault on higher education,” the letter reads.
Officials with Wichita State said its international education office is assisting students with issues that may have arisen from their visas being revoked.
“We are aware of the recent AAUP resolution and greatly appreciate the AAUP’s continued advocacy on behalf of our international students,” a university statement said. “University leadership shares the AAUP’s sentiment that international students are a vibrant constituent part of our campus community.”
Edwin Sawan, who teaches in WSU’s School of Computing and is also a AAUP member, said for international students at Wichita State, news travels from person to person, whether that’s to recruit other international students to the university, or warn them.
“Most of the students who come to this country, they come based on word of mouth, because all the universities are the same for them, and all the states are the same to them, but they come to them based on the word of mouth,” Sawan said. “If rumors keep spreading like this, then people from other countries will say, ‘Okay, well, try somewhere else.’”
Crackdowns on international student visas come as the university is expecting a five percent budget shortfall next year. It said early in 2024 that it hoped to make up for the projected shortfall by recruiting international students, who often pay three times as much in tuition as students who live in the country.
This story is shared from The Wichita Eagle through the Wichita Journalism Collaborative, a coalition of 10 newsrooms and community groups, including The Sunflower.
