It’s a high-stakes reckoning that international students across the country have had to grapple with as the Trump administration has moved aggressively to silence campus criticism of Israel’s bombardment of Gaza.
But I see it in all the international students around me.
She worried about being targeted by pro-Israel websites that publish the names and photos of pro-Palestinian students and call for them to be deported.
She had always intended, after finishing her graduate program, to adjust her student visa into a temporary work visa.
“All of us international students, we had this thought of, ‘what if it was me?'”
One of Mahmoud Khalil’s Columbia University classmates triple-locked her door in early March after learning that immigration officials had arrived to pick him up, fearing she would be the next to be targeted.
When she heard that he had a green card, she said, “I just absolutely broke down.”. She reasoned that they would definitely come for her because she was a student with a temporary visa. “I was genuinely terrified by that. “.”.
During a turbulent year of involvement in Columbia’s pro-Palestinian movement, the student instantly faced a decision more significant than any she had yet to face. Because of this fear, she asked to be identified by her first initial, T. She was among the foreign-born student protesters that President Trump was attempting to deport as part of his pledge. She questioned whether she should keep speaking out because it had become the main driving force in her life or whether she should keep quiet to avoid being arrested and possibly kicked out of the U.S. S. . “?”.
International students nationwide have had to face this difficult reality as the Trump administration has taken strong action to stifle campus criticism of Israel’s bombardment of Gaza. It has cancelled student visas and taken vocal foreign-born students to ICE detention facilities on false charges of promoting antisemitism, aiding Hamas terrorism, and endangering the country’s foreign policy without providing proof.
T stated, “Mahmoud’s detainment was the catalyzing moment where people either continued advocating or just completely retreated,” while seated in a park in New York City, close to Columbia University’s campus, one recent afternoon. “At this point, I don’t think anything would get me to stop advocating for Palestine. However, I observe it in every foreign student in my immediate vicinity. People are afraid. “.”.
In recent interviews with NPR, two international graduate students in the last weeks of their programs discussed their choices to speak out in spite of the possibility of losing their visas and facing detention or deportation, as well as the impact that choice has had on their lives and future plans.
T, a graduate student at Columbia University.
T is a Palestinian writer and photographer who posts images and articles about the demonstrations on her campus online, primarily to refute right-wing claims that the pro-Palestinian movement is violent and antisemitic, according to their statement. She publishes under her given name without mentioning that she is a student from abroad with a visa.
“I’ve been to probably every single protest in the capacity of documenting what’s happening,” she stated. “I don’t want those in positions of authority to change or erase this significant moment in our history. I want people to hear what we have to say on the ground. “.
She misjudged the extent to which the federal government would take action to deport students for having pro-Palestinian views. She claimed that her belief that she would be protected by the constitutional right to free speech was dashed when Khalil, Mohsen Mahdawi, and Rümeysa Öztürk, a student at Tufts University, were arrested by plainclothes ICE agents after she wrote an opinion piece.
T claimed that realization completely upended her life.
“I now move with paranoia,” she declared. “I mentally and emotionally get ready for detention every time I leave my house. Whenever I see a man on the street or a van, whether white or black, I get a panic attack. “.
She didn’t know if she was already a target for the government. She was concerned that pro-Israel websites that post the names and images of students who support Palestine and demand their deportation would target her. She claimed that after leaving home, she started wearing a scarf, sunglasses, and a facemask to hide who she was.
She considered it an essential precaution rather than a sign of surrender. She said those who continued to speak out against what they see as a genocide in Gaza, which Israel denies, felt more vulnerable as international students around her started to withdraw.
“I’m safeguarding myself to ensure that I can keep publishing, speaking, and advocating,” T stated. “If you had asked me a year ago, I doubt I would have replied that I would be willing to risk my education and health for Palestine. I don’t believe there is anything I wouldn’t do now to prevent the genocide. “..”.
Nevertheless, she claimed that the events of the past few months had changed her post-Columbia plans. She had always planned to convert her student visa to a temporary work visa after completing her graduate program. She aspired to work in her favorite city, New York.
However, it took a toll on her because she was constantly worried that immigration officials would notice her published works. Federal judges have expressed concern that the arrests of certain students violated the constitution and ordered their release from custody.
However, T made a decision a few weeks ago that she would return to her native Middle East after graduating this month, where she would discover new ways to support Palestinian rights and, more importantly, feel safer doing so, she said.
The statement, “I think I realized: I can’t live like this,” was made by her. “It’s simply abnormal. “,”.
F is a graduate student in New York.
F requested that NPR omit the name of her university and only use her first initial. According to her, she was disciplined for taking part in a pro-Palestinian demonstration a few months ago. Knowing that her school might make it simpler to track her down worries her. The federal government has pushed universities to release the disciplinary records of student activists.
When ICE agents arrested the first few students, she recalled, “All of us international students, we had this thought of, ‘what if it was me?'”. “The more vulnerable students began consulting with their attorneys and making plans in case that happened. “.
F, who is also from a Middle Eastern nation, never thought she was in danger of being arrested. She stated that she has attended numerous protests, but never as a leader but always as a participant.
When Khalil was taken into custody, she claimed she was taken aback by how swiftly the government had fulfilled President Trump’s bold pledge. Additionally, it appeared to be indifferent to the rights to free speech and due process.
“They declared that they would do this, and they succeeded. Furthermore, they transported this man and others to Louisiana,” F remarked.
Her concerns about her safety were heightened by the detentions. She thought about covering her face. Mahdawi, Öztürk, and Khalil had all been doxxed prior to their arrests; their names, images, and summaries of their protest activities were posted online. F claimed that she has never been doxxed and that she wishes to remain that way. At every protest, she started evaluating her exposure. She wore a mask to avoid being noticed, just like the majority of people.
F said that, like many other student activists, she frequently becomes indifferent to the constant news of Palestinians being killed by Israeli bombs, one and a half years after the conflict in Gaza began. “The guilt can be overwhelming,” she said. She made the decision that continuing to protest the killings would be worth the risk of losing her student visa or being arrested and deported.
She declared, “I’m definitely fine with that if something were to happen with my immigration status because I was unwavering in my support of Palestine.”. The government’s ability to intimidate some of the students in her immediate vicinity with the threat of deportation, she claimed, has inspired her.
She stated that she still felt the need to dedicate herself to the movement and take on greater risks that others could not afford.
