Hands Off Our Students! Rally
In the past week alone, at least 44 students across the UC system have reportedly had their I-20 Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) record terminated by the Department of Homeland Security, with at least one deportation occurring. The current count of visa revocations at UCLA is thirteen.
These detentions and visa revocations are taking place without warning, and without the University being able to inform visa holders in a timely way that their legal status to remain in the U.S. has been terminated.
The cases across the University of California and elsewhere suggest there is no consistent pattern or logic to visa revocations and status terminations. Ostensibly, their pretext is Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s warning that students who have engaged in political activity or speech around Palestine would be targeted for visa revocation first. Yet, some visas have been revoked for minor and non-political offenses, including a case of wrongful arrest where charges were completely dismissed.
The federal government has not explained the reasons behind these terminations. Meanwhile, the UC Office of the President has issued a vague letter with no concrete commitment to support international students, scholars, staff, and faculty.
Non-citizen students, faculty and staff need you. The UCLA Faculty Association, together with our partners in higher education across Southern California, call on you to stand up and say loudly – Hands Off Our Students! Hands Off the UC!
Join our rally on Saturday, April 12th at 3pm in Downtown LA. We will meet at the corner of Broadway and Temple, before marching to the ICE Field Office building at 300 N Los Angeles St.
Listen to our system-wide demands of the administrators in Oakland, developed through the Council of UC Faculty Associations (CUCFA) and UC-AFT.
Hear from faculty associations at other Southern Californian universities, as well as community partners from the Los Angeles area.
Let ICE know that they are not welcome at the University of California.