Two University of Northern Iowa international students have visas flagged

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (KCRG) - The federal government has flagged two more international college students here in Eastern Iowa, a move that could lead to revoking their visas.

This time at the University of Northern Iowa (UNI).

This comes after a student union at the University of Iowa announced that five of its students lost their visas on Tuesday.

The University of Northern Iowa says two international students’ status was changed in a monitoring system for international students but it is unclear what that means for their visa. The University says it is up to students to notify the school of a change in their visa status.

On Thursday, a faculty union at UNI held a teach-in for people to express their frustrations with the Trump administration and Iowa lawmakers.

“It feels like these past few months have just felt like we’re taking such steps backwards,” UNI junior Anya Lovstuen said.

Lovstuen said she’s not happy about the students losing their visas, but she’s also not happy about the changes to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs on college campuses.

UNI has made changes to its DEI programs, including the removal of its Gender and Sexuality Services department.

“There are still opportunities to get that help, it’s just a lot harder to access and even find out about because we have to talk around it,” Lovstuen said. “It makes it harder for students to get the resources and the community that they need and should be accessible to them on this campus,” she said.

Chris Martin, president of UNI’s United Faculty said he’s concerned for UNI’s international students who could lose their visas.

“These are universities in Iowa, public institutions where people have applied, got accepted, and we took their money, their tuition money,” Martin said. “Now the federal government is coming in and saying like: ‘No we don’t want these people here’,” Martin said.

Lovstuen said it’s important to speak out at events like the teach-in to stand up for those who can’t advocate for themselves.

“It’s really empowering to be at events like this and to see the people fighting for the change because sometimes it feels like the rest of the world has given up on us by taking these things away,” Lovstuen said.

Editor’s note: this article has been updated to reflect the status of the two UNI student visa’s is uncertain.