Since taking office, President Donald Trump has made several attempts to revoke immigrants’ and students’ legal status in the United States. Though many of these attempts have been blocked by judges, these policies have left those affected wrestling with confusion and uncertainty. 

“The last two months have been a roller coaster for me and my family,” one University of Utah faculty member in the College of Humanities said. “Every day, bad news, good news, bad news, good news, fear, hope — it’s very hard.”

This faculty member, who wished to remain anonymous, came to the United States several years after leaving Venezuela due to the instability, corruption and safety concerns wracking the country. According to the Migration Policy Institute, as of December 2024, there are about 7.9 million refugees and migrants worldwide from Venezuela alone. 

“I have gone 10 years without seeing my brothers and sisters,” he said. “I talk with them with Zoom, but I miss them. I miss my country too, but I prefer to stay here.”

But his ability to stay here was called into question when he got a letter in the mail near the end of March. It notified him that his humanitarian parole status was being revoked, and he was given until April 24 to leave the country. 

“I’m not a criminal. Since I arrived here, I respect the law, I pay my taxes, I try to be a good citizen, because this country opened its arms for me, and I appreciate that,” he said. He called being told to leave the country without reason “rude” and “mean.” 

“Me and my family and another bunch of people that I know that [are] here with parole are good people. They have a job, they have this life here,” he said. “So, I want to stay here, of course. I don’t want to start again, but if I must be compelled to leave the country,” he said, he would, out of respect for the law. 

In April, a federal judge blocked the Trump administration’s attempt to rescind parole without reason. Though the ruling may be a temporary pause on the administration’s push to encourage immigrants to leave the country, it meant that more than 500,000 people who were told they would have to leave the country could stay. 

But still, the future remains uncertain for this faculty member. Though he’s working on obtaining U.S. citizenship, it’s hard to know what the next day will bring. 

“I don’t see anything beyond today,” he said. “And this is exhausting. I’m very, very, very exhausted.”

International Students and the Trump Administration

Around the same time, immigrants on parole were notified their legal status was being terminated, and international students across the country effectively had their student visas cancelled after student records were deleted from the system that monitors them. At the U, 22 student visas were affected. In response, ACLU Utah filed a lawsuit on behalf of these students, alleging they had not been given due process before having their legal status revoked. 

“These records were just deleted without any due process,” Aaron Welcher, the communications director for ACLU Utah said, “because they were given no notice of this happening. They didn’t have a chance to respond and prove, one way or another, that they’re here lawfully.”

One international student, who asked to remain anonymous, said the revocations didn’t make sense. 

“In the U.S., there’s a rule that people need to be given a second chance. That’s why the court system, the law and everything works in favor to give you a second chance no matter what you did,” he said. “But, I think the situation we’re seeing right now … doesn’t make sense. They should at least have a court hearing or something to have that second chance.” 

As this international student said, getting a U.S. education can mean all the difference in creating a comfortable and secure life back home. 

“Education is like the bedrock for everything in life that follows,” he said. “It literally feeds families, even if we’re not considering money in general, food, shelter, you know, security, safety, all of these things are only provided with good education.” 

But it didn’t take long for this to change, too. Last week, the U announced that 21 of the 22 revoked visas had been restored. 

Effects of Changing Immigration Policy

As immigration policy changes, immigration lawyer Virginia Maynes recommended staying informed and contacting immigration lawyers to ensure you’re getting the right information.  

“There’s a lot of things that are changing quickly right now, and so even something that may be reputable and maybe true last week might not be true this week,” she said. “And so making sure that you have sources of information that you can trust before you make decisions is really important.” 

Welcher said the ACLU also has several free resources in various languages on its website. The organization can also help connect people to legal resources. 

Maynes said Catholic Community Services of Utah, where she works, has seen an uptick in calls since Trump’s aggressive immigration policies were enacted. 

“People who are concerned about what’s going on, concerned about their situation, and people who, maybe before, thought they were secure, like people that have status,” she said, “are now concerned where they weren’t previously, and so are calling in, wanting information.” 

But even with these policies, Maynes emphasized immigrants’ rights to due process, a Constitutional protection for everyone within the United States’ borders. 

“You should not be afraid, if you have status, to live your life according to the status that you have, just because of things that you might be hearing,” she said. “I think it’s really important for people to know that there are protections that are in place, that you do have rights for due process as an immigrant.”