April 18, 2025: International Student Resources and Protocols

Requesting journalist: Chloé Williams

Respondent name and position: Sarah Bolton, President

1) Can you comment on how the Trump administration’s recent foreign policies (such as their revocation of South Sudanese visas) has affected the college and the college’s international student population? Will these developments affect future international student admissions?

Over the past several weeks, we have been very concerned about the reported revocation of visas of over a thousand international students across the US, and also about a significant number of international students whose SEVIS records have been terminated and who have, in some cases, been taken into custody or stopped at the border for a variety of reasons. Some of the revocations appear to be linked to protest or other forms of activism, others connect to minor infractions such as a speeding ticket years ago, others are unexplained. We are equally concerned about the reported revocation of permanent resident status in some cases.

These revocations are creating fear and uncertainty for many international students, as well as for international staff and faculty. Students should be able to live, learn and thrive knowing that they are safe in the US and on our campus. Challenges to international students' documents while travelling, and the potential for future travel bans for students from certain nations have also profoundly impacted students' ability to travel for summer opportunities or to visit home.

Whitman is honored and fortunate to be a global community, and to have brilliant students coming from all over the world. We will continue to admit similar numbers of international students as in previous years, and will work to ensure that Whitman is a place they feel safe and confident in attending.

2) What protocols has the college put in place to protect and support international students during this politically tenuous time?

The College has been focussed on the ways we can best support international students and employees, and ensure that they have both information and resources in this very concerning time. Cody Tornow, Director of International Student and Scholar Services, has been working with others on campus and around the country to provide guidance and support in this rapidly changing situation, including opportunities for international students and employees to speak with and get guidance from specialty attorneys. We are also working with attorneys and other experts to be prepared to provide crisis support and uphold the rights of Whitman’s international students and employees in case it is needed. In addition to Know Your Rights trainings, we have also developed and shared several resources about immigration enforcement, including the one here.

The college is now working on developing plans to support international students whose summer plans may have had to change due to concerns about the safety of travel. We are working to make it possible for international students to stay in Walla Walla this summer if they want or need to do so, and to provide resources to support food, housing and other summer needs.

3) There have been concerns about what will happen if ICE comes to campus. What is the college’s current plan of action if that were to happen?

Some information on this that Gina [Ohnstand, Vice President for Communications] sent to Nazaaha [Penick, Editor-in-Chief of the Whitman Wire] the other day is here. You can also find more details here. It is important to note that our staff are trained to be sure that everyone knows what to do if contacted by immigration agents, in order to fully protect students to the maximum possible extent under the law.