International students plan to stay home amid protests, fear of crackdown

(UNITED STATES) International students across the United States 🇺🇸 and Canada 🇨🇦 are scaling back their daily lives and skipping protests after months of aggressive enforcement and fast-moving policy shifts. Since January 2025, the U.S. government has carried out at least 1,300 visa revocations tied, sometimes loosely, to campus protests, and advocates say arrests and removals have followed on several campuses. In Canada, hundreds of thousands face expiring permits this year while colleges grapple with deeper program cuts and a sharp drop in new applications, pushing many students to consider leaving or re-enrolling at steep cost.

Escalating U.S. Enforcement and Campus Fallout

The pace of U.S. enforcement quickened in early March. On March 8, 2025, Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested Mahmoud Khalil, a former Columbia University graduate student who served as a protest spokesperson. His arrest, widely discussed by students and faculty, sparked fresh alarms about surveillance and the risk of visa revocations for those linked to demonstrations.

Student leaders and attorneys report that some international students were detained without prior notice, while others lost status despite not attending protests. Officials have cited retroactive reviews of social media, event sign-in sheets, and roommate ties as sources for enforcement actions.

Officials in the Trump administration, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, have stated that protest activity by noncitizens can trigger removal under executive orders and the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, which allows deportation for conduct posing “potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences.” The administration frames the crackdown as necessary to protect public safety and prevent harassment on campus.

Legal scholars counter that the measures amount to a broad assault on due process and free speech, saying the government has blurred the line between actual misconduct and protected advocacy. Students describe a palpable sense of fear at high-profile universities—including Columbia and UW–Madison—as well as at regional campuses where smaller groups worry they’ll face less media scrutiny and fewer legal resources.

Many students now avoid protests, delete social media, limit travel, and move off campus to reduce visibility. U.S. citizens and permanent residents from immigrant families say they also feel constrained; they fear that arrests or visa revocations against friends could spill over into family immigration cases.

Universities report strained legal clinics and hotlines, with international offices fielding continuous inquiries about status checks, travel risks, and whether a single photo at a rally could trigger removal. Staff lawyers say they cannot promise safety even to students who have not protested, because enforcement has sometimes attached to thin or indirect links to demonstrations. VisaVerge.com reports that the wave of revocations has created a chilling effect reaching far beyond elite campuses, as students at smaller schools choose to stay home rather than risk attention by attending protests or vigils.

Scale and consequences

• U.S. officials have revoked at least 1,300 student visas since January 2025.
• Researchers counted at least 1,700 demonstration events in March alone, many related to pro-Palestinian and pro-immigration causes.
• Attorneys warn enforcement will disproportionately affect students from Muslim-majority countries and students of color, who already face higher screening.

Several students have left the country voluntarily to avoid arrest. Others are weighing high-stakes options:

1. Requesting asylum based on fear of return.
2. Seeking transfers to new programs.
3. Dropping out and going underground.

Each option carries severe risks. Withdrawal from studies can lead to loss of status and quick accrual of unlawful presence. Asylum filings require clear evidence and strict timelines. Those who disappear from school records face immediate vulnerability to detention and removal.

The federal posture has also strained the campus compact. Universities say they are caught between demands from federal officials to “protect Jewish students,” intense political scrutiny of pro-Palestinian protests, and their duty to uphold speech rules equally. Administrators warn that threats to cut federal funding have tightened pressure.

Student organizers say the net result is a climate where international students fear that a chant, a retweet, or even attending a teach-in could invite arrests or visa revocations. Advocates expect more enforcement through the fall, and analysis by VisaVerge.com suggests the pattern of removals linked to protests—combined with wide discretion under the immigration statute—may keep international students at heightened risk through the 2025–2026 academic year.

Canada’s Permit Cliff and Student Protests

North of the border, the crisis has a different shape but similar stakes. By the end of 2025, nearly five million temporary permits will expire in Canada, including 766,000 foreign students. The federal government cut new international student permits by 35% in 2024 and plans a further 10% reduction in 2025, citing housing shortages and political pressure to reduce temporary migration.

Colleges must now show that their curricula match workforce needs for graduates to qualify for Post-Graduation Work Permits (PGWPs). This change has narrowed options and closed long-used pathways to permanent residency.

Market and institutional impacts

• International student applications to Canadian colleges fell 54% as of late 2024—far beyond the government’s stated reduction target.
• Smaller colleges and rural campuses that rely heavily on international enrollment face budget shortfalls and program cuts.
• Landlords and campus services built around student demand are seeing vacancies and unfilled jobs as students lose PGWPs and depart.

Since August 2024, Punjabi-origin students staged a prolonged encampment in Brampton, Ontario, pushing for PGWP extensions and clearer permanent residence paths. By early 2025, many felt momentum had waned as national attention shifted.

With over 200,000 former international students slated to lose PGWPs by the end of 2025, families have begun packing up. Students are responding in varied ways:

• Re-enrolling—often paying out-of-province tuition—to remain lawful.
• Switching to visitor status.
• Exploring asylum.
• Leaving after selling cars and breaking leases.

Policy analysts say Canada’s rapid, top-down changes eased pressure in overheated urban rental markets but hit regional colleges hard. Students describe isolation and uncertainty as permit expirations approach, with limited renewal options and tighter rules on off-campus work. Without PGWPs, many lose the work experience needed to qualify for permanent residence streams.

Practical Steps and Official Context

Students in both countries are trying to lower risk while staying on track academically. Attorneys and campus advisers suggest several steps:

• Avoid public protests if you fear immigration consequences, and be cautious online—especially with posts that may be misread.
• Keep records: save emails, screenshots, and notices from schools and agencies.
• Speak with a trusted lawyer as soon as you receive any contact from immigration authorities or your school about status reviews.
• Consider alternate legal routes—such as transfers, new program enrollment, or asylum—only after getting specific legal advice about timelines and evidence.

For U.S. visa policy guidance on student status, the Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs provides official information about F and M visas, including maintenance of status and travel cautions. Students can review the agency’s overview here: U.S. Department of State – Student Visa. While the page doesn’t comment on protests directly, it explains rules that can affect visa validity when a student stops studying, travels, or changes programs.

International advisers stress that even students who never attended protests may face questions if their names appear in event planning chats, group photos, or roommate lists. Some report unannounced visits that led to document checks and status reviews. For those with pending benefits or future applications—such as Optional Practical Training or transfers—a single arrest or campus discipline entry can complicate filings and trigger revocations.

Canada-specific guidance

• Students weighing re-enrollment to secure a study permit extension must confirm the program remains eligible for a PGWP and that the school meets the government’s new requirements.
• Those close to permit expiry should plan for exit strategies or lawful alternatives early (visitor extensions, new study options).
• Community organizations advise keeping employment records and pay stubs; these can be important for later work-based pathways or restoration applications.

As fall terms begin, the climate remains tense. U.S. legal clinics are overwhelmed by requests from students asking whether attending a rally could endanger their visas. Canadian registrars report higher-than-usual withdrawals as students fail to secure extensions before deadlines.

The message travelling fast through group chats and WhatsApp threads: lay low, keep documents up to date, and avoid any action that might be misread by authorities.

Students and faculty also warn about the social cost. Many international students came to North America expecting open debate on campus. Instead, they describe whispered meetings, canceled teach-ins, and deep anxiety around public speech. Faculty who mentor foreign students say they now factor legal risk into advice about internships, housing, and travel—especially for those who might pass through checkpoints or airports during breaks.

Whether this chill eases will depend on decisions in Washington and Ottawa. In the United States, officials under President Trump have signaled continued, aggressive enforcement tied to campus protests, meaning more visa revocations and removals are likely. In Canada, federal targets point to sustained limits on new study permits through 2025, with the PGWP tightened to steer graduates into specific fields.

For now, international students are choosing caution over confrontation. Some keep a packed bag by the door. Others avoid buses to city centers where protests gather. The goal, they say, is simple: finish the term, keep status clean, and make it to graduation without becoming a case number.