Trump administration revokes 3 student visas at Berklee College of Music (2025)

The Trump administration has continued to revoke student visas at more higher education institutions in Boston.

Three students at Berklee College of Music have had their visas revoked and student statuses terminated by the federal government, a spokesperson for the college said in a statement sent to MassLive Tuesday.

“The federal government has not explained the reasoning behind these terminations and did not notify Berklee in advance of the terminations,” the statement reads. “We are actively monitoring the situation and continuing to prioritize student support.”

The spokesperson was unable to provide more information on the matter.

Berklee College of Music is now among the eight Massachusetts institutions that have confirmed that the Trump administration has terminated one or multiple student visas and student statuses at their college or universities — part of a nationwide trend.

The rest are Tufts University, Harvard University, the University of Massachusetts Amherst, the University of Massachusetts Boston, Northeastern University, Emerson College and Boston University.

Three students and two recent graduates at Harvard University have had their student visas revoked, according to a Sunday announcement from the Harvard International Office.

The institution found out about the revocations through a routine records review. The office notified the students and referred them to legal assistance. The names of the students weren’t identified, nor were the reasons for the revocations described.

One of the first public revocations occurred when Tufts University doctoral student Rümeysa Öztürk was arrested on March 25 by six masked federal immigration agents in Somerville in apparent retaliation to an op-ed article she co-authored in support of the Palestinians in Gaza in the school’s newspaper in 2024.

That same day, her F-1 student visa was revoked without prior notice.

A Tufts spokesperson confirmed that another Tufts graduate student’s visa had been terminated.

“We informed the student and directed them to outside immigration resources for support. We are still gathering information and have no additional details at this time,” the spokesperson said.

• Read more:At a Mass. community college, fear dominates students’ thoughts

Five international students at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have had their visas revoked and student statuses terminated by the Trump administration, according to a Friday evening email from the university’s chancellor.

In an updated communication, the institution confirmed that UMass Amherst “did not play any role in the federal administration’s unilateral action in terminating the status of our UMass Amherst students”

The institution said the revocations have no “known connection with either the campus’ federally mandated participation in active OCR Title VI complaint processes or with students’ engagement in activism.”

UMass Boston also confirmed in a letter to the campus community that two current students and five other members of the community, including recent graduates participating in training programs.

Emerson president Jay Bernhardt wrote in a letter Monday morning that one international student had their student status revoked.

“We are working closely with the affected student, who has requested that our community respect their privacy, to provide support during this difficult time. It is important to note that we have no reason to believe that this student was targeted for protest-related activity,” Bernhardt said.

As of Sunday, Northeastern University confirmed that several students and recent graduates had been notified that their visas had been revoked.

“ICE has also furthered this effort by terminating some student records without formal notification to the university or the student. As of now, we have no evidence that a Northeastern student or recent graduate has had their status revoked due to political advocacy or speech,” the institution said on its frequently asked questions page.

Boston University confirmed that there have been some cases of student visas being revoked but didn’t provide a specific number. The International Students and Scholars Office at BU is “routinely reviewing” to determine if other visas have been terminated.

“The University immediately notified the affected students, answered their preliminary questions, and provided them with sources to find appropriate immigration counsel,” a BU spokesperson said.

MassLive reached out to other institutions that didn’t immediately confirm whether any students at their college have had their visas revoked.