ST. LOUIS 鈥 Federal officials have targeted the immigration status of several international students studying in the 蜜芽传媒 area as hundreds of student visas are being revoked across the country.
Webster University said 18 international students at its campus in Webster Groves have had their visas revoked or their records terminated in the federal system used to track students鈥 immigration status.
Three undergraduates and six former Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville graduate students working in the U.S. have had their visas revoked since early April.
蜜芽传媒 University spokesperson Clayton Berry said a 鈥渟mall number鈥 of international students have been affected by federal officials鈥 recent visa crackdowns, but he would not share specifics for privacy reasons. A small number of Lindenwood University students have also seen their visas revoked in recent days.
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Washington University spokesperson Julie Flory declined to provide details but said an unspecified number of the private university鈥檚 students have seen their immigration records terminated.
Federal authorities have changed the legal statuses of hundreds of international students studying at U.S. colleges and universities in recent weeks as President Donald Trump鈥檚 second administration heightens scrutiny on immigration.
As of Monday, over 170 colleges and universities have identified over 1,000 international students and recent graduates who have seen their legal status changed by the State Department, .
SIUE told international students in an April 7 email to carry copies of their immigration documents at all times. They cautioned students to be mindful about what they post on social media and exercise discretion when participating in political demonstrations or protests, according to the email, first reported by the .
鈥淲e respect their privacy in this sensitive situation and will not release more specific details on these students,鈥 SIUE said in a statement to the Post-Dispatch on Monday.
University of Missouri-蜜芽传媒 said none of their international students had been affected by federal changes. Maryville University declined to comment, citing confidentiality and safety concerns.
In a statement, Washington University officials said they will assist international students to a 鈥渓egally permitted鈥 extent.
鈥淲e greatly value our international students, faculty and staff who are in the U.S. for work or study, and it is our strong hope that they will be allowed to remain here to pursue their academic and professional goals at WashU,鈥 university officials said.
The past few months have been an increasingly perilous time for higher education.
Universities were already bracing for significant drops in enrollment caused by declining birth rates. But recent federal policy changes and cuts have added additional turbulence.
Washington U. 鈥 whose medical school ranks second in the amount of funding it receives from the National Institutes of Health 鈥 is bracing for a potentially significant loss of federal research funding.
Chancellor Andrew Martin that the university will pause some construction projects and reduce graduate student admissions in some programs in anticipation of federal cuts. On Monday, university officials announced they were pausing construction on a building for its school of Arts and Sciences.
The private university also by over 5% for next school year to compensate for the potential funding loss and proposed increase to the federal endowment tax.
In March, the U.S. Department of Education said Washington University was one of dozens of universities its Office for Civil Rights was investigating for alleged 鈥渞ace exclusionary practices.鈥
Continued blows to international student recruitment and retention could sink a life raft that universities have used to buoy themselves amid rising competition for students.
Webster University had padded its declining enrollment by recruiting overseas, largely from Nepal and India. In addition to the 18 international students in 蜜芽传媒, Webster University spokesperson Patrick Giblin said six students at Webster鈥檚 San Antonio campus also saw their visas revoked or immigration records terminated.
Nearly of SLU students come from outside of the U.S.
International students made up of Washington University鈥檚 enrollment this spring.
Post-Dispatch photographers capture hundreds of images each week; here's a glimpse at the week of March 30, 2025. Video edited by Jenna Jones.
