Reports of student visa revocations and ICE detentions continue to alarm immigrant communities in the US as a 33-year-old Aditya Wahyu Harsono, an Indonesian citizen and Minnesota resident, was detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after his student visa was abruptly revoked.
Who is Aditya Wahyu Harsono?
Harsono, who earned his master’s degree in business from Southwest Minnesota State University in 2023, had no prior knowledge that his F-1 visa had been cancelled. His attorney and wife, Peyton Harsono, a US citizen, said his visa was revoked silently—despite the fact that he had a pending green card application filed through Peyton via I-130 and I-485 forms.
ICE detained Harsono in a hospital basement where he worked as a supply chain manager. He was allegedly lured into a meeting by his employer, only to be arrested by federal agents.
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“What is particularly troubling about the circumstances surrounding Mr Harsono’s arrest is that his employers, who held him in such high regard, were essentially coerced into staging a meeting in the hospital basement solely to facilitate ICE’s apprehension of him,” said attorney Sarah Gad told Minnesota Star Tribune.
Though an immigration judge granted Harsono bond on Thursday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has since appealed the decision. He is currently being held at Kandiyohi County Jail, separated from his wife and their 8-month-old daughter. “Even with his student visa revoked, he’s still authorized to remain in the U.S. while his immigration petition is processed,” Gad noted.
Aditya’s student visa revoked. Here’s why
ICE claims Harsono’s visa was pulled because he is a “threat to US public safety”, but his family question how? The letter from ICE stated the visa revocation would be silent and undisclosed to preserve “ongoing ICE operational security.”
Court records cite a 2022 misdemeanour conviction for property damage—stemming from his involvement in the George Floyd protests—as the basis for the visa revocation. Harsono completed probation for the graffiti charge, and another citation for unlawful assembly was dismissed “in the interest of justice,” according to CBS News.
When Minnesota Star Tribune pressed why his visa was cancelled, the department responded, “The Trump Administration is focused on protecting our nation and our citizens by upholding the highest standards of national security and public safety through our visa process.”
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However, his wife believes his political activism, including vocal support for Palestine, made him a target.
“US visas are a privilege, rather than a right, reserved for those who make the United States better, not seek to destroy it from the inside,” US officials like Marco Rubio have defended such actions.
