MIDDLEBURY — The Trump administration’s battle against higher education and non-citizens came to Addison County this week.

Federal immigration officials have taken action that could lead to visas being revoked for at least one foreign student at Middlebury College and three recent graduates from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in California.

“In recent days, four members of the Middlebury community … had their Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) records terminated by the U.S. government,” said a Wednesday morning email to college faculty, staff and students from top administrators.

Interim College President Steve Snyder, General Counsel and Chief Risk Officer Hannah Ross and Provost Michelle McCauley said in the email that the institution had to follow federal law related to foreign students and non-citizen faculty. But said they would pursue whatever legal means they could to protect them.

About 15% of Middlebury students come from overseas, with the largest contingent coming from China.

The college did not name the student in this SEVIS case to protect their privacy. But the email did explain that SEVIS is the government database used to issue visa-eligibility documents and fulfill compliance requirements so foreign students can keep their F-1 (regular full-time student) or J-1 (exchange student) visas.

Erin Ruble, an Addison County immigration lawyer, told the Independent that the U.S. State Department has full discretion to revoke a visa at any time, though until now this was very rarely done once students were here.

“This is a new tactic that the government has recently begun employing,” Ruble said. “Termination of a student’s SEVIS record is not the same as visa revocation, but it could be a sign that a visa has been revoked.”

Ruble noted there is also “termination” of a student visa, “which can be done, ‘pursuant to notification in the Federal Register, on the basis of national security, diplomatic, or public safety reasons.’”

“However, across the country, a lot of students’ SEVIS records are being terminated without going through either process,” she said. “Termination of a SEVIS record, even without revocation, can have serious consequences: loss of employment authorization, loss of the ability to reenter the country, loss of dependents’ status, and potential visits from (Immigration and Customs Enforcement).”

The college officials said they are working with the student to determine what steps to take next.

“We are doing everything we can to guide and support the student and their family during this difficult time,” they wrote.

In some sense, Middlebury College was preparing for more pressure from the Trump Administration. Middlebury is one of at least 60 colleges and universities that have received letters warning them about vague claims of antisemitism on campus. The feds also have started cutting off funding to science research that will affect Middlebury.

Earlier this month, the administration issued guidance to faculty to keep their classrooms doors closed during class. That makes them private spaces, which federal agents can’t enter without permission if they are trying to arrest foreign students on immigration grounds. They were also told who to call if an agent does try to deliver a warrant to a classroom.

VTDigger.org on Thursday evening reported that the college this week posted an FAQ so that its community could understand their stance toward federal government officials and law enforcement. To read the FAQ click here.

On Monday, the college invited students to a Zoom teleconference with immigration attorney Dan Berger, who talked about recent immigration policies, traveling abroad, enforcement, and what to expect in 2025 and beyond.

Berger, who did several calls with the college, like others is concerned about the possibility that some in the Trump Administration are scanning social media in search of foreign students who may have supported Palestinians. He urged people in the Middlebury Community to think carefully before undertaking any but the most essential travel outside the U.S.

That is already happening. One foreign student at Middlebury College said they had the opportunity to travel to an extracurricular activity outside the United States, but they declined to go because they were not assured that their visa would be respected and they might not be able to return to campus.

This all comes in the context of immigration officials actually putting college students in jail for pro-Palestinian activity. Late last month, masked agents stopped Tufts University student Rümeysa Öztürk on the street in a neighborhood outside Boston alleging that a year-old opinion column she co-wrote invalidated her visa. She’s been in jail since then.

This week, Vermont resident Mohsen Mahdawi was detained and jailed at an immigration office in Colchester, apparently for pro-Palestinian activity when he was at Columbia University last year.

Ruble said it’s not clear if the SEVIS record termination will require the Middlebury student to leave immediately.

“In a case going on right now in D.C., the government has admitted that SEVIS termination is not the same as visa revocation and that a student whose SEVIS record was terminated isn’t here unlawfully and can still study under the terms of his status. It’s not clear whether the government will stand by that statement, as its legal positions tend to be moving targets lately. Department of Homeland Security also states on its website that, after SEVIS termination, a student is expected to leave,” she explained.

“BUT, a student still keeps their F-1 status after termination, and even if the student visa is revoked. If the government wants them out of the country, it must put them into immigration proceedings, where there are due process protections,” Ruble continued. “All this being said, it is undeniable that a student whose SEVIS record has been terminated is in an extremely vulnerable position, and losing the ability to work may itself endanger their F-1 status. The student doesn’t appear to have many options in this circumstance, apart from applying for reinstatement or challenging any visa revocation in removal proceedings.”

Ruble added that “apart from any questions as to the wisdom or justice of this as an immigration enforcement tool, it has been plagued by all kinds of errors.”

“There are reports (in other parts of the country) that people are having their records terminated because their name is similar to someone else’s, or because they were involved in a criminal case, even though the charges have been dismissed,” she said. “There is a process under immigration law to remove someone for criminal infractions, but some of these SEVIS records are being terminated for much more minor offenses that would not support removal.”

Middlebury College officials noted that among the legal avenues they have taken is joining an amicus brief filed by the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration in a lawsuit that challenges the detentions and deportations that have been occurring to members of higher education communities.

“We want to state again, unequivocally, that we are committed to our international community and to preserving the safety and security of all at Middlebury,” Snyder and the other Middlebury officials wrote on Wednesday.