As fears persist over students’ visas, Mass. colleges try to offer legal and academic support
By Anna Rubenstein
May 02, 2025
Colleges and universities across Massachusetts moved swiftly to change policies and offer new services to international students affected by the Trump administration’s whiplash actions against their visas.
From free legal advice to remote study options and emergency financial aid, several schools recently crafted what some educators and lawyers described as “contingency plans” for students whose visa or legal statuses in the U.S. appeared in jeopardy.
While the government temporarily reversed many of its visa terminations late last week following dozens of lawsuits, uncertainty and fear remains across many campuses.
As WBUR previously reported, more than 100 of the roughly 80,000 international students studying in Massachusetts lost their visas before the pause.
The Trump administration “reversed course, because they were sued more than 60 times,” said Sarah Sherman-Stokes, a law professor and associate director of Boston University’s Immigrants’ Rights and Human Trafficking Clinic. “The reason fear and uncertainty remains is because we know that the administration throws stuff up against the wall and tries to see what can stick.”
Though many students received word their visas were restored, some reported this week that they’d yet to see their statuses reversed. At Tufts University, seven out of nine terminated visas were reactivated as of Thursday.
In the high-profile case of Rümeysa Öztürk, the Tufts doctoral student from Turkey, her visa has not been restored. She was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in late March and remains in custody at a Louisiana detention center.
On Monday, the federal government released rules to allow ICE officials to detain students deprived of their visas and begin deportation proceedings. In the past, students who lost their visas could not reenter the U.S. if they left, but were allowed to stay on American campuses to complete their studies.
Shaking up rules to offer support
Several college leaders said as staffers and students keep a close eye on visa databases, the schools have expanded choices for international students.
Harvard College announced to prospective international students that they could create a “backup plan” for their educations by accepting admission to both Harvard and a non-American institution this year, according to the Harvard Crimson.
Northeastern said in “some cases” students could study remotely, or at one of its international campuses in the United Kingdom or Canada. About 40 students and recent grads had their visas revoked — the most reported by any university in Massachusetts. Each saw their statuses restored.
The University of Massachusetts Amherst pointed its campus community to an existing emergency grant application program that can offer students “adversely affected by changes in federal immigration” help with “legal, academic, housing, living and counseling needs.” All 13 international students who saw their visas taken away later had their statuses restored.
UMass is also offering free, confidential legal advice to students, as are Harvard and Boston University. BU’s website also notes the school can provide one-time free legal consultation for “eligible community members.”
Some schools, like Boston University, adopted new policies after calls from faculty and students. In early April, students rallied outside the Dean of Students office to demand BU establish a “sanctuary campus” by implementing measures like barring ICE entry into private buildings without a judicial warrant. (Boston University owns WBUR’s broadcast license. WBUR is editorially independent.)
BU spokesperson Colin Riley said BU is not considering remote degrees or studies at this time. It is, however, allowing students to apply for campus summer housing — and financial assistance for it — even if they are not enrolled in classes.
Sherman-Stokes said while BU’s moves are a start, she wants it and universities across the country to provide students with full legal representation and adopt policies saying they won’t cooperate with ICE. It’s also important to evaluate disciplinary policies, she said, especially regarding protected free speech.
Many lawyers, politicians, free speech experts and local community members have decried what they argue is a targeted federal crackdown against students, like Öztürk, who have spoken out against Israel’s war in Gaza.
“There’s a direct line between discipline and detention,” she said. Boston University “needs to be more mindful of that. It’s not inconceivable that those disciplinary records could be demanded by the Trump administration and used to target non-citizen students.”
In its efforts to ramp up pressure on Harvard, federal officials have asked the university to share disciplinary records of international students. The school did share some records, but did not specify what those documents detailed.
Sherman-Stokes said BU students have streamed into her office to share travel fears. Some aren’t sure whether to upend plans to study overseas and disrupt their degree paths, she said. Others expressed worry a return home for summer break could prove disastrous when they try to return for the fall semester.
One BU student, who asked not to be identified because she fears repercussions, landed a “dream” summer internship in her home country — but hasn’t yet decided if it’s worth the risk. She was one of many students who sued the government after her visa was terminated last month.
Her visa status has since been restored, she said. She added that she’s grateful for the university’s consistent communication and its offer for her to contact university police if ICE comes to campus.
Still, she said little has been able to alleviate her anxieties over the past month.
“Getting my [visa] active feels like I can finally breathe again,” she said. “But at the same time, it doesn’t erase the stress and fear that so many of us went through.”