Exactly what the MSU international students did to prompt the Trump administration’s revocation of their visas remains unclear. MSU declined to share information about students’ home countries or their field of study, citing an interest in protecting their privacy.

While MSU is currently aware of 12 students who have had their visas terminated, there could be more. MSU is not being contacted by the Department of State when a student’s visa is revoked, meaning it can’t know about a termination until the affected student contacts the university, MSU spokesperson Amber McCann said. 

4,503 international students are enrolled at MSU for the spring 2025 semester, making up 9% of the student population, according to university data.

​​Whereas international students’ visas have historically only been in jeopardy if they’re not able to demonstrate good standing within their academic program and that they have sufficient financial support to study in the U.S., the Trump administration has significantly adjusted those standards. 

International students who have participated in pro-Palestinian demonstrations or speech on college campuses have been targeted with visa revocations specifically. In other cases, students with minor traffic violations on their records have been marked for visa termination.

The Trump administration has billed its policy as an effort to rid the country of antisemitism, but critics have argued that message is only being co-opted in bad-faith to justify a policy that runs afoul of the first amendment.

In a press conference Friday, Board of Trustees Chair Kelly Tebay noted that the university has not identified a common thread or reason that could explain why those students’ visas were revoked. 

"If you look across the country, I think there’s a lot of actions that are happening that we can’t really understand," Tebay said. "If there is some type of criteria that we’ve seen, it doesn’t appear that there is."

What comes of the international students’ status at MSU in spite of their visa revocations remains largely unclear. 

Guskiewicz said the university is managing the students on a "case-by-case basis" to determine if they will be able to complete their degree programs. 

Whether the students can do so will depend on their academic program and the education laws of whatever country they return to, he said.  

"Medical students are another example … If they’re in their second, third year of clinicals, that’s an example of where it may be a little more difficult to finish, then, if they had to return to their home country."