Students demonstrated at the Tempe campus on Thursday after reports that multiple students had their visas revoked since the start of March.
An ASU spokesperson confirmed Thursday evening that federal authorities revoked the visas of at least eight international students. An ASU spokesperson said the revocations were for "various legal infractions" unrelated to campus protests.
The State Press has not been able to confirm the names of the students, the reasons and the exact dates their visas were taken away, or any relation between the cases. It is unknown whether more students could face revocation.
The spokesperson did not provide data on how many, if any, visas have been revoked at the University in years prior.
"Due to the complexity of the visa process, including appeals and other procedures, exact numbers at any given moment are not available," an ASU spokesperson wrote in an email.
Protesters, many affiliated with Students for Justice in Palestine at ASU, gathered on Hayden Lawn to denounce the revocations. A group of around 20 painted signs before walking to the bridge over University Drive.
In a press release published Thursday morning, SJP at ASU condemned the visa revocations and raised several demands for University administration extending beyond the recent news.
The demands included making the University a "sanctuary campus," where U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement may not carry out raids, arrests or deportations.
Sophie Levitt, a senior majoring in justice studies and co-chair of SJP at ASU, said the organization was already planning to protest as part of the national organization's "Week of Rage."
Levitt said international students should "not be in fear of their visas getting revoked."
She pointed to the charter of the University, which she said promotes inclusion in contrast to executive actions directed at higher education.
"ASU needs to be resisting these demands," Levitt said.
The revocations were also condemned by Xavi Benjamin, who will be studying secondary education in the fall of 2025.
"I’m here to say 'that is wrong,' and we need to fight back against them," Benjamin said.
Mikhaila Halbeck, a sophomore studying sociology and the grievance officer for SJP, said the protest was meant to bring visibility to the eight students.
"It's very important for us to keep momentum up and to try to mobilize students as much as we possibly can," Halbeck said.
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Edited by George Headley, Alysa Horton and Alexis Heichman.
Reach the reporter at coyer1@asu.edu and follow @carstenoyer on X.
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Carsten is a freshman studying journalism and mass communication. This is his first semester with The State Press. He also worked as his high school's newspaper editor-in-chief.
