AMHERST — Five international students at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have had their visas revoked and their student statuses terminated by the federal government, Chancellor Javier Reyes announced in a letter to the campus community on Friday.

According to Reyes, the university was not notified by federal authorities of these status revocations and only became aware due to checking the Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) database. In each of the five cases, the students’ legal status to remain in the United States has been revoked.

“We are connecting these students to on- and off-campus resources, including personal outreach from leadership within the Office of the Provost, Student Affairs and Campus Life, and the Office of Global Affairs,” Reyes wrote. “We also continue to work with the UMass Office of General Counsel and the Attorney General of Massachusetts to ensure that we do everything within our power to protect our community.”

Reyes, citing similar reports of international student visas being revoked by the Department of State, as reported by the Associated Press on Thursday, said the revocations are “troubling on several levels.” These actions, he wrote, have been attributed by federal authorities to alleged incidents that are sometimes as minor as off-campus traffic violations. In the past, he added, students’ legal statuses in the United States were not immediately canceled due to a revoked visa, whereas student statuses are now being revoked within hours of the visa’s revocation.

Reyes advised that students are only informed of visa revocations via an email notification to the address they originally used to apply for their F-1 or other non-immigrant visa. In cases where a student worked with an agent or consultant to apply for their visa, the notification may go to the agent or consultant’s email address.

“We encourage all students on visas to monitor the email address used to apply for their F-1 or other non-immigrant visa for notifications from the Department of State,” Reyes wrote.

Reyes also advised that any students on UMass-sponsored visas who receive communication from the federal government should contact the Office of Global Affairs. Additionally, he wrote, UMass has established the Angel Fund to help meet the legal, academic, housing, living and counseling needs of students who are adversely impacted by changes in federal immigration policies.

The chancellor emphasized that every international student on the UMass campus has the administration’s “unwavering support as we confront this new reality,” and that the campus is working with the UMass system, the governor, the attorney general and legislators to ensure that “our legacy as a global campus lives on.”

“Like so many others, I came to the United States to study through the student visa program,” he wrote. “We came to better ourselves, better our communities and better the country that welcomed us as scholars.”