Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) urged the Trump administration to treat international students “fairly” before revoking visas, as the White House targets people in the country on green cards for deportation over concerns they are fomenting antisemitism and supporting terrorism.
During a recent interview with KFOR, Lankford revealed the State Department is attempting to deport some foreign students in Oklahoma schools who he suggested didn’t appear to have breached university policies.
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“…there are a couple students — there’s a student, I won’t name the school right now, but there’s a student that we can’t find any discipline problem that was an issue there and so we’re just asking the State Department to say ‘hey help us understand this particular visa,’” the senator said.
Twelve students at Oklahoma State University and the University of Central Oklahoma have had visas revoked, according to the Meadville Tribune. Two students at Oklahoma Christian University and two at Oral Roberts University also had their visas rescinded, per News 9.
As the Trump administration makes waves for attempting to remove students in the country considered by the White House to be participating in questionable activity on campuses funded by federal dollars, Lankford defended the intention but pushed the State Department to ensure the right to due process is protected in each case.
“If you’re on a student visa or any visa, and you protest against the United States, or you participate in something, they can consider an act of terrorism, “ he said. “You’re a guest of the United States, they can revoke that visa, just like that. And so that has happened. We’ve seen that in some Ivy League schools … but we’ve now seen some in Oklahoma, and some of them, we understand there were some discipline problems on campus.”
“I do understand that if a student is here, they’ve got to follow American law; they can’t challenge the American way of life. They are our guests, but we also want to make sure they are our guests. We’re also treating them fairly in the process,” he continued.
Details remain scant surrounding why visas were revoked for at least sixteen Oklahoma students.
Oklahoma immigration attorney Kelli Stump told the Oklahoma Daily News that students targeted in the state at some point had a brush with law enforcement.
Seven OSU students had their visas revoked due to some criminal activity, ranging from a speeding ticket to a previous arrest, according to the O’Colly.
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On Monday afternoon, the University of Oklahoma sent out an email saying its Office of Global Engagement is communicating “with federal partners and monitoring updates through relevant agencies to better understand the scope and process surrounding” student visas being revoked.
The Washington Examiner reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for further details, but did not receive a reply by the time of publication.