New Hampshire Congressional Delegation Presses Trump Administration on Revoked Student Visas

(Washington, DC) – U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH), alongside U.S. Representatives Chris Pappas (NH-01) and Maggie Goodlander (NH-02) are pressing the Trump administration to reconsider recent decisions to revoke student visas for international students studying at New Hampshire colleges and universities. In their letter to U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Acting Director Todd Lyons, the Congressional delegation highlighted the lack of transparency around many of the visa revocations as well as the irreversible harm many international students experienced.

The Congressional delegation wrote, in part: “We have heard extreme concern from international students and colleges and universities across New Hampshire who have seen students’ visas unexpectedly revoked and their SEVIS records terminated. Many report having received no notification of or justification for these actions. This is entirely unacceptable. While we appreciate that the Administration has subsequently reversed terminations for certain individuals, the chaos and uncertainty the Administration has caused for international students, including those who have already left the country or lost employment opportunities, is not reversible.”

They continued: “New Hampshire’s international students make important contributions to our state’s educational community and economic output. According to the National Association of Foreign Student Advisors (NAFSA), international students contributed $198.4 million to New Hampshire’s economy and supported 1,703 jobs during the 2023–2024 academic year […] In addition, given that a quarter of international students stay and work in New Hampshire after they graduate, losing international students will further exacerbate the extreme shortage of high-skilled workers that our state faces, impeding its economic growth. It is a grave mistake to turn away talented international students and give our adversaries another opportunity to capitalize on and undermine our national security interests.”

The full text of the letter can be found here.

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