Overspeeding to shoplifting: Minor offences resulting in deportation for Indian students in US

Inadvertent shoplifting and minor traffic infractions are now the new grounds for US officials to cancel overseas students' visas. This follows the deportation of a number of Indian and other overseas students for their pro-Palestine campus activity. The Department of Homeland Security is ordering students whose admission visas have been revoked to leave the country right away. This is unusual because students are usually allowed to stay and finish their education.

Miriam Feldblum, president and CEO of the Presidents' Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration, stated that some of the students targeted in recent weeks have no obvious connection to political activism. She noted that some have been asked to leave due to traffic violations or petty offenses.

In recent days, the designated school officials (DSOs) of dozens of Indian students in the United States sent them emails alerting them to the expiration of their F-1 student visas and requiring them to depart the country immediately.