A ‘challenging and stressful time’ for NIU students: University responds to revoked visas

DeKALB – Northern Illinois University officials declined to provide more information Thursday on the public institution’s five international students whose visas have been revoked by the U.S. government.

In a statement to Shaw Local News Network, an NIU spokesperson cited university leadership’s desire to respect the affected students’ privacy.

No one has said publicly why the five students lost their visas as of Thursday. It also has not been disclosed if the students are no longer on campus, though NIU is providing support for those impacted.

“The university is working directly with each student to ensure they understand their rights, options and resources to support them as they navigate the significant disruption to their daily lives and future plans,” officials said in a statement provided by NIU spokesperson Jami Kunzer.

[ ‘Chilling silence’: Waves of Illinois’ international university students lose their visas ]

The NIU students are among multiple international students studying at institutions across the U.S. who’ve been targeted by President Donald Trump’s administration for abrupt visa revocation in recent weeks.

The visa changes appear part of Trump’s larger plan to crack down on immigration and noncitizens, though details surrounding why certain students are affected are sparse.

The reason the five NIU students’ visas were revoked has not been publicly disclosed.

Federal officials have in some cases claimed students violated visa rules or posed a threat to national security.

The Associated Press reported on Thursday that the federal government submitted a memo, signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, to support its attempted deportation of Columbia University student and activist Mahmoud Khalil. A legal permanent U.S. resident and graduate student, Khalil served as a spokesperson for campus activists in 2024 during large demonstrations against Israel’s treatment of Palestinians and the war in Gaza.

In March, Tufts University doctoral student and visa holder Rumeysa Ozturk, 30, was detained by masked federal immigration officers as she walked along a Boston suburb. She was moved to a U.S. immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility in Louisiana before a federal judge had a chance to weigh in on the actions. The U.S. government accused Ozturk of supporting terrorists. But friends and colleagues said Ozturk’s only known activism was co-authoring an op-ed in a student newspaper that called on Tufts University to engage with student demands to cut ties with Israel amid the war, The AP reported.

A Shaw Local reporter asked NIU for comment on how long the five students had been studying at NIU, and to disclose how the university was made aware of their visa status changes.

Kunzer said NIU officials would not comment on the matter outside of its provided statement Thursday.

At 970 international students currently enrolled, NIU’s international students make up just shy of 6.3% of its total student population, according to 2024 fall enrollment numbers provided by Kunzer.

NIU’s international student population is smaller than other Illinois higher education institutions. Illinois on the whole hosts a significant amount of students from other countries, ranking fifth in the nation, according to Open Doors, a data portal that records statistics on international students in the U.S.

Illinois has seen a steady growth in international students enrolled at public universities since 2022, according to data reported by the Illinois Board of Higher Education. International student populations often are larger in graduate studies programs.

When asked whether the five NIU students whose visas were revoked were undergraduate or graduate students, NIU declined to specify, citing respect for students’ privacy.

“With only four weeks remaining in the semester, this is an especially challenging and stressful time for students, faculty and staff,” NIU officials said in the statement.

The Associated Press and Capitol News Illinois contributed.