Trump's student deportations are expanding and evolving, with only a few names made public

The Trump administration's deportations of international students from US universities across the country are "evolving and unfolding", and increasingly being reported without releasing the names of students.

It's unclear if this new development is because of the growing scope of deportations, a more secretive approach by authorities, or if the widening crackdowns by US President Donald Trump administration are creating the intended climate of fear in which students are opting not to speak out.

Regardless of the reason, what's clear is that the policy gripped the public's attention. Students are scrubbing their social media profiles, many international students are choosing not to apply to US universities, some are avoiding international travel from the US for fear of not being able to return, and many are shying away from activism.

"It's awful. It's horrible. This is not the kind of life that we want to lead in this country," Richard Groper, a lecturer in political science at California State University in Los Angeles, told The New Arab.

"We don't want anybody to disappear. I don't care If they're on a student visa or not. You get due process. Just because you wrote an op-ed, you shouldn't be thrown out of the country," he said.

He was referring to Rumeysa Ozturk, a Tufts student from Turkey who was abducted last month on the street near Boston, one of the first high-profile cases of moves to deport students who have been active in pro-Palestinian advocacy. Ozturk had written an op-ed in the student newspaper, criticising Tufts for its investments related to Israel.

Over the last several days, reports show that government crackdowns on foreign students are ramping up. States where student deportations have been ordered include New York, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Idaho, Colorado, California, Texas, Michigan and Ohio.

Last month, the arrest of Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, a recent Columbia University graduate, was what Trump vowed would be the first of many to come.

Khalil will learn by the end of this week whether he’ll be sprung from jail in his deportation case, a judge said Tuesday.

Immigration Judge Jamee Comans during a hearing in Louisiana ordered the Department of Homeland Security to turn over any evidence it has supporting a bid to have Khalil, a legal US resident, deported.

Meanwhile, certain universities sent out emails to students and faculty saying they were not informed of their international students losing their visa status. Some students say they have received notifications from the government telling them to self-deport using a Homeland Security app. Others opted to self-deport, rather than risk possible detention and legal complications.

Last month, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he was revoking the visas of at least 300 students, though the number could be far higher given the lack of transparency.

The Trump administration has also targeted lawyers involved in student activism cases. Amir, a lawyer from Dearborn who is representing a University of Michigan pro-Palestinian student activist arrested last year, was detained at the Detroit airport on Sunday on his way back from a family spring break holiday to the Caribbean, according to the Detroit Free Press.

Outside of academia, the Trump administration has indicated that they plan on expanding their crackdown on foreigners. On Tuesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said they were exploring ways to deport US citizens to El Salvador.

"It's unfolding and it's evolving. I thought naively that they'd stop with the 1952 law and 1789 law, and then it struck me that the administration is really improvising," David Frank, a professor of rhetoric and political communication at the University of Oregon, told TNA. He was referring to the early Cold War Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 and the Alien Enemies Act of 1789.

"It's a different strategy they're developing in time. They're being creative and innovative. Those of us in higher education need to be vigilant all the time," he said.

"They have to go after the easy targets. The targets are [foreign] students because they don't have legal standing. They're much easier to find, especially if they've been protesting. Their faces are already out there," said Groper. "They're taking the low-hanging fruits. It's a shame because you should be able to have free speech in this country. But this is the world we live in right now."