Popular podcast host Joe Rogan has spoken out against President Donald Trump’s recent crackdown on international students in universities across the United States. During Tuesday’s episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, Rogan expressed his concerns while discussing immigration policies with comedian Mike Vecchione.
According to MSNBC, Rogan, who had previously supported Trump before the November election, criticized the administration’s approach to immigration enforcement, particularly regarding foreign students on college campuses. He pointed out that many innocent people are being caught up in Trump’s mass deportation efforts.
“Deporting people because you don’t like who they’re criticizing? Like, that gets kind of shifty,” Rogan said during the podcast. He emphasized that universities should be places where students can freely express their opinions and engage in open discourse, showing how his views continue to evolve on Trump administration policies.
Case of Turkish student highlights growing concerns about foreign student deportations
The discussion appeared to reference the case of Rümeysa Öztürk, a Turkish doctoral student at Tufts University. Öztürk was detained by immigration officials for six weeks after writing an essay in her student newspaper that criticized the university’s response to the war in Gaza.
Joe Rogan just torched Trump’s latest stunt for what it is: a fascist crackdown dressed in red, white, and bullshit.
— Charles Perreira (@CharlesPerreir7) July 29, 2025
Deporting students for writing articles? That’s not immigration policy that’s a dictatorship test run.
This isn’t about “protecting America.” It’s about silencing…
Rogan argued that students were being targeted simply for writing articles that the administration disagreed with, despite not calling for any violence. He stressed that challenging ideas through debate is a fundamental part of university education, saying that this is how better arguments emerge.
During the conversation, comedian Mike Vecchione agreed with Rogan’s stance, noting that colleges are meant to be places for open discussion. The podcast host went on to describe the administration’s immigration policies as an “overcorrection” that affects innocent individuals.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has defended these deportations, citing the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952. The law allows the U.S. government to deport immigrants if the Secretary of State believes their presence could have serious negative effects on U.S. foreign policy.
This is not the first time Rogan has criticized Trump’s immigration policies, as part of a broader pattern of disagreement with the administration. Earlier this month, he described the large-scale immigration raids targeting farm and construction workers as “insane,” showing a growing divide between his previous support for Trump and his current views on the administration’s immigration enforcement methods.
