Gabriella Mateo | Staff Writer
FIU’s international status may be in jeopardy with 530,000 immigrants getting their CHNV humanitarian parole removed during President Trump’s latest crackdown on immigration.
The Office of International Student and Scholar Services states that the student population has over 3,500 international students from over 140 countries, many of whom can be affected by this new removal on April 24.
Specifically, Venezuelans have been President Trump’s latest immigration target after he called for the Supreme Court to allow his administration to utilize the Alien Enemies Act, making it the fourth time this wartime law has been invoked.
“We are monitoring how these actions may impact the university community, policies and procedures. Any specific questions regarding the impact on individual students would be best addressed by way of consulting with an immigration attorney,” said Maydel Santana, the Associate Vice President of Media Relations and Communications, on behalf of the Office of ISSS.
According to College Factual’s FIU Demographics & Diversity Report, 14.16% of the student body are international students.
“I think this is a terrifying decision that will be felt greatly in our community, a lot of FIU students and their families will be affected because they might be forced to leave the US or scramble for a different status, which is extremely expensive so not many can afford it,” said Maria Lezama, a Venezuelan non-citizen Communications major.
FIU’s Office of Scholarships contains an Undocumented Students tab for said students to assist in their education.
“I have had conversations with friends and family friends that are actively fearful of their future in the country, calling state representatives Salazar and Ballart for support in their cases. I think FIU should foster empathy and support for these students,” said Fabio Lerma, a Political Science and International Relations major born and raised in Cuba.
On March 6, Trump stated that he would decide “very soon” if he would strip the parole status from Ukrainian refugees who fled during the war with Russia. FIU has a small Ukrainian community that would be affected by this new policy, and the Office of ISSS uploaded a Updates & Resources for those Affected by the Ukraine – Russian Conflict informational tab on their website to keep those students informed.
“It’s scary to think that Trump is taking such drastic measures and makes me scared for what status that protects immigrants he will try to come for next,” stated Maria Lezama when asked about the impact on these new policies.
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