At least 73 visas revoked from international students at North Texas universities

Another North Texas university says several international students had their visas unexpectedly revoked.

The University of Texas at Arlington confirmed to FOX 4 on Thursday that 27 of its international students had unexpected changes to their visas in recent days.

Though UTA officials didn’t clarify why, Secretary of State Marco Rubio did.

"If you’re coming to this country as a student, we expect you to go to class and study and get a degree. If you come here to vandalize a library, take over a campus and do all kinds of crazy things, we’re going to get rid of these people, and we’re going to continue to do it," said Rubio. "When we identify lunatics like these, we take away their student visas."

Last May, some UTA students and faculty launched pro-Palestinian protests. Mirroring similar rallies at other American universities.

While it’s not clear whether Secretary Rubio is specifically referring to those in North Texas, other colleges, where similar demonstrations were held, have also been impacted.

What they're saying:

Freedom of speech advocates call it a stunning abuse of the First Amendment.

"It’s very scary, and I really think it represents a dark moment for our freedoms in America, if the government takes and exercises this power," said Lee Rowland, Executive Director of the National Coalition Against Censorship. "Just on its face, the idea that the federal government would use its power to get rid of people engaged in political speech, no matter how offensive, is itself a problem."

Another institution feeling the effects is UT Austin. This week some students are standing in solidarity. "We have a very large international student community based here at UT. And they, like many other students, are rightly frightened and fearful," said UT Austin student, Arshia Papari.

By the numbers:

The federal government says it has revoked more than 300 international student visas at campuses across the country.

At least 73 of those are at universities across North Texas, including at UTA.

The University of Texas at Dallas says 19 of its international student visas have been revoked. 

27 students at the University of North Texas have also had their visas revoked.