International students at Quinnipiac University received an email from the Office of International Students and Scholars Monday to update students on the newly implemented executive orders regarding international travelers.
The email titled “OISS Guidance for International Students and Scholars,” prepares students for potential rules changes that may impact international students when they travel to and from the U.S.
“Foreign nationals entering the United States or applying for visas or travel benefits from outside the U.S. should be aware that travel requirements may change rapidly and without notice,” said the email sent by OISS.
OISS will continue to update students on travel notices and requirements, but strongly encourages students to stay up-to-date on the Associate of International Educators’ website as well.
The email advises students to also “make sure you have physical and/or digital copies of your immigration documents with you at all times.”
This comes a week after Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish international student at Tufts University, was detained by plainsclothed agents from the Department of Homeland Security.
“A video circulating on social media on Wednesday showed a woman in a hijab and white coat being surrounded on a sidewalk, handcuffed and led away by masked plainclothes officers driving unmarked cars,” a New York Times article said.
In recent weeks, other colleges like Brown, Cornell, Columbia and Yale have sent out notices to their international students. During the universities’ spring breaks, many international students risked deportation if they left the United States and attempted to return.
“The news is stirring concern among the over 1.12 million international students who fear they’ll be targeted based on their nationality. In losing their visas, they also forfeit the degrees they’ve been working so hard for, while the other option is being deprived of their right to travel – to visit their family back home or go on personal- or school-related trips,” said an article from USA Today.
The university is not providing any additional comment on the matter.
