{"id":40517,"date":"2025-03-24T12:36:13","date_gmt":"2025-03-24T19:36:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=40517"},"modified":"2025-03-24T12:36:14","modified_gmt":"2025-03-24T19:36:14","slug":"uc-berkeley-tells-foreign-students-leaving-for-spring-break-they-may-not-be-able-to-return","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2025\/03\/24\/uc-berkeley-tells-foreign-students-leaving-for-spring-break-they-may-not-be-able-to-return\/","title":{"rendered":"UC Berkeley tells foreign students leaving for spring break they may not be able to return"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A time-honored college tradition has become a source of anxiety for international students who might consider traveling abroad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A protest Wednesday at Sproul Plaza on the UC Berkeley campus. | Source:Autumn DeGrazia\/The Standard<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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By\u00a0Emily Shugerman<\/a> Published\u00a0Mar. 21, 2025 \u2022 (SFStandard.com)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As universities become targets for investigation and student arrests in the Trump administration\u2019s crackdown on pro-Palestine protesting, even the annual custom of spring break has become cause for concern.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hundreds of students and faculty rallied Wednesday at UC Berkeley\u2019s Sproul Plaza in solidarity with Mahmoud Khalil and other activists targeted by the federal government, waving signs reading \u201cTeach Palestine\u201d and \u201cEducation, not censorship.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The speeches at the event were fiery, but the feeling on campus was one of apprehension. \u201cIn a completely non-hyperbolic way, I think we\u2019re all freaking out,\u201d said one student protester who asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation. \u201cEmotions are running high, and nobody really knows what\u2019s going to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some legal organizations and activist groups are warning international students not to travel to their home countries during spring break next week, worried they may not be allowed back into the U.S. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere is a strong chance that upon trying to reenter the country, [student protesters] are stopped in the airport and detained for their activism,\u201d said Cole Stanton, a member of Berkeley\u2019s Law Students for Justice in Palestine. \u201cThe general advice is to not go unless you absolutely have to.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A spokesperson for UC Berkeley said the school was also warning \u201cstudents from select countries to avoid travel at this time,\u201d noting the \u201ccurrent uncertainty about future U.S. entry requirements.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The University of San Francisco is issuing similar guidance. \u201cThere is uncertainty as new policies and practices continue to be implemented,\u201d a spokesperson said. \u201cIn light of this, we encourage students to reconsider travel over the next few weeks while we gain a clearer understanding of how these policies will affect them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Protesters hold signs at Sproul Plaza. | Source:Autumn DeGrazia\/The Standard<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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A student at the protest, which was attended by hundreds, including faculty and community members. | Source:Autumn DeGrazia\/The Standard<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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A UC Berkeley student in front of a Palestinian flag. | Source:Autumn DeGrazia\/The Standard<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The advice comes after the arrests this month of Khalil, a pro-Palestinian activist who is married to a U.S. citizen, and at least one other activist<\/a> who participated in protests last spring at Columbia University. Officials on Wednesday detained a fellow at Georgetown University<\/a> who is in the country on an employer-sponsored visa, claiming he was spreading \u201cHamas propaganda and promoting antisemitism on social media.\u201d The advice also comes amid reports of a possible ban on travel<\/a> to the U.S. from Afghanistan, Haiti, Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, and other countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Campus groups have been coordinating with Palestine Legal and the San Francisco-based Arab Resource & Organizing Center, among other organizations, to get up-to-date advice for international students worried about detention. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

AROC director Lara Kiswani says demand for the group\u2019s legal services in recent weeks has been \u201cso high we can\u2019t meet it,\u201d adding, \u201cStudents have been panicked, and they don\u2019t know how protected they are.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The answer: not very. Kiswani said AROC has been advising noncitizens involved in pro-Palestine activism not to leave the country because of the risk of detention and deportation at airports. \u201cIn general, we\u2019re definitely informing people that it is not advisable to travel outside of the United States right now, not just for students \u2014 anybody who is not a citizen,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Protesters
Dora Zhang, professor of English and comparative literature, at the protest. | Source:Autumn DeGrazia\/The Standard<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Berkeley lecturers wrap themselves in protest banners. | Source:Autumn DeGrazia\/The Standard<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Protesters grab buttons and informational pamphlets from a table staffed by students and faculty. | Source:Autumn DeGrazia\/The Standard<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

One student at Wednesday\u2019s protest, who asked not to be named for fear of retaliation, said community members had been offering up their homes to students with nowhere else to go during spring break. \u201cIt\u2019s crazy to say, but people are opening their doors to students who are concerned about this in a way that\u2019s similar to Nazi Germany,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hannah Zeavin, an assistant professor in the history department, said she meets regularly with international students who are afraid of being targeted for detention or deportation. She said Berkeley professors speak regularly with the school\u2019s International Office and use informal whisper networks to stay up to date on constantly shifting guidance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne of the things that\u2019s been very intense is saying to students, \u2018This is what we\u2019re saying on March 19, at 10:28 in the morning, and that\u2019s subject to change,\u201d Zeavin said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Malak Afaneh, a former UC Berkeley law student, sparked headlines<\/a> last year when a professor tried to grab a microphone from her during a protest at the professor\u2019s house. Afaneh now lives in New York and is advising students there in her capacity as director of the Palestine Center for Public Policy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Afaneh said her organization has gone so far as to advise students with visas not to attend protests, for fear of being recognized and targeted. She has also recommended that activists delete protest photos from social media and ask photographers to take down photos of them at demonstrations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Protesters engage in chants of “Fund education, end deportation.” | Source:Autumn DeGrazia\/The Standard<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Back at Berkeley, a coalition of student groups has been hosting training sessions in partnership with AROC and the Council on American-Islamic Relations, educating students on what to do if they are approached by immigration officials. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

AROC has also offered to represent students in court and aiding them with the naturalization and asylum process \u2014 though Kiswani said there are not many options for those on student visas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt the end of the day, in terms of the lowest hanging fruit for targeting, it is students like Mahmoud and others who don\u2019t have a lot of rights afforded to them,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Salton, the member of Law Students for Justice in Palestine, said the fear on campus has not quelled the desire to protest. In fact, the escalation of the immigration crackdown on Khalil and other students has emboldened a protest movement that had been moribund in the immediate aftermath of Trump\u2019s election.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf I want to get any message across, it\u2019s the fact that the students are united in wanting to fight back against the fear tactics,\u201d Salton said. \u201cTrump is trying to make an example, and we\u2019re not going to sit idly by.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Emily Shugerman can be reached at eshugerman@sfstandard.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A time-honored college tradition has become a source of anxiety for international students who might consider traveling abroad. Share By\u00a0Emily Shugerman Published\u00a0Mar. 21, 2025 \u2022 (SFStandard.com) As universities become targets for investigation and student arrests in the Trump administration\u2019s crackdown on pro-Palestine protesting, even the annual custom of spring break… Continue reading → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40517"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40517"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40517\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40518,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40517\/revisions\/40518"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40517"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40517"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40517"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}