President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 14188 on Jan. 29. This order put federal agencies, such as the State Department, to work, demanding they investigate and potentially revoke visas of international students conveying signs of involvement in pro-Palestinian protests on U.S. collegiate campuses.
Since the order’s implementation, over 1,550 international students and recent graduates from more than 240 colleges and universities have had their legal status changed by the State Department. In Texas, over 260 student visas have been revoked. KVUE News reported the University of Texas system has confirmed at least 176 visa terminations. Other universities — such as Texas A&M University, the University of North Texas, Texas Tech, Texas Woman’s University and the University of Texas at Arlington — have been affected as well.
These visa revocations were often done with minimal warning, notice or explanation, sparking confusion and fear among students. As of now, the Trump administration primarily targets students with nonimmigrant F-1 academic-student visas and J-1 exchange-visitor visas. They are also cracking down on pro-Palestine students participating in protests.
The policy has raised concerns among university administrators, legal experts and civil rights advocates. Critics argue that the revocations lack transparency, due process and may be infringing upon certain rights such as the freedom of speech. However, the Department of Homeland Security affirms that the actions are aligned with national security priorities and legal visa conditions.
In his 2025 joint session address to Congress, Trump defended his policy shift, stating, “We’ve ended the tyranny of so-called diversity, equity and inclusion policies all across the entire federal government and indeed the private sector and our military. And our country will be woke no longer. We’re getting wokeness out of our schools and out of our military, and it’s already out, and it’s out of our society. We don’t want it. Wokeness is troubled. Wokeness is bad. It’s gone. It’s gone. And we feel so much better for it, don’t we? Don’t we feel better?”
As uncertainty lingers, university officials across Texas are continuing to assess the impact while seeking clarification from federal agencies.
