Cal State urges ‘extreme caution’ for students, faculty and staff considering travel abroad

News Brief

Thursday, April 3, 2025 — 9:30 am

California State University has issued guidance advising faculty, staff, and students to “carefully assess the necessity of international travel at this time” following a series of immigration enforcement actions targeting people affiliated with college campuses in recent weeks.

“The decision to travel outside the United States is personal, but the CSU advises all members of its community to proceed with extreme caution,” the guidance for international travel this spring and summer advises. “Immigration policies, practices, travel bans, and health and safety risks are shifting daily and often cannot be fully assessed or projected in advance.”

The guidance, which does not mention a Trump administration push to rescind hundreds of student visas, warns of stricter border security and heightened scrutiny, especially for visa-holders as they seek to re-enter the U.S. The memo also notes that proposed travel restrictions may impact travelers from 41 countries and cites other diplomatic, geopolitical and security risks associated with travel overseas. It in addition alerts faculty and students “involved in sensitive research areas such as artificial intelligence, biotechnology, or defense-related fields” that they may be subject to “additional questions at the border.”

The guidance suggests international students traveling both internationally and within the U.S. should carry not only their passport, visa and other forms, but documents such as course registrations and transcripts that prove their connection to the CSU.

California State University representatives did not immediately answer questions about the international travel guidance, whether people affiliated with the university system have been unable to return to the U.S. after travel outside the country and whether CSU students, faculty or staff have had other encounters with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in 2025.

An email accompanying the document sent by administrators at Sacramento State University, one of 23 campuses in the California State University system, said the recommendations are intended for “community members who are not U.S. citizens out of an abundance of caution.”

Since taking office, the Trump administration has cracked down on international students who have spoken out against Israel’s military actions in Gaza or who have participated in pro-Palestinian protests, accusing them of being antisemitic or pro-Hamas. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on March 27 said more than 300 student visas have been revoked on his watch, including in connection to allegations of student activism.

The American Association of University Professors and the Middle East Studies Association have sued to block the Trump administration from large-scale immigration enforcement aimed at noncitizen students and faculty, saying such action violates the First Amendment. The lawsuit details the cases of students at Columbia University, Cornell University and Georgetown University who have had their immigration status or visa revoked in recent weeks. The Associated Press and other newsrooms report that ICE has also detained students at the University of Alabama and Tufts University.

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