Trump administration reverses sudden cancellations of foreign students' US visa registrations
The DOJ revealed the reversal in federal court following weeks of heightened examination by the judiciary and numerous restraining orders handed down by judges.
TroibNews 
The Trump administration has reinstated student visa registrations for thousands of foreign students studying in the United States who had minor legal infractions, many of which were frequently overlooked.
The Justice Department announced this significant reversal in federal court on Friday, following weeks of intense judicial scrutiny and numerous restraining orders issued by judges who viewed the mass termination of students from a federal database — crucial for universities and the federal government to monitor foreign students in the U.S. — as blatantly illegal.
The terminations led to widespread concern and panic among students who feared that they had lost their legal immigration status and faced imminent deportation. Many of those who filed lawsuits claimed that their institutions had also restricted their ability to continue classes or engage in research, putting their graduation in jeopardy just weeks away.
Judges conveyed their frustration regarding the seemingly arbitrary decisions and the hesitancy of government attorneys to clarify whether the students could remain in school or if they needed to leave the country right away.
The earlier terminations from the federal database initiated over 100 lawsuits, with judges in more than 50 cases, covering at least 23 states, instructing the administration to restore the students' statuses temporarily. Many more judges appeared ready to take similar actions before the reversal on Friday.
The DOJ announced that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is currently formulating a new policy concerning foreign students on F-1 visas studying in the U.S. Until this policy is established, no students will have their online student-visa records, known as SEVIS records, terminated “solely based on” criminal history checks that flagged minor charges and dismissed cases.
It remains uncertain whether the State Department will reverse recent outright cancellations of many of these students’ visas. A federal official informed a judge last week that the agency was conducting “quality control” on those decisions.
Earlier this year, Secretary of State Marco Rubio revoked the student visas of several foreigners whom he alleged were disrupting U.S. foreign policy through pro-Palestinian activism. However, a more recent wave of visa cancellations seemed to focus on students with minor legal issues, who were also affected by the termination of their profiles in the SEVIS database.
Spokespeople for ICE and the State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comments.
"ICE is developing a policy that will provide a framework for SEVIS record terminations. Until such a policy is issued, the SEVIS records for plaintiff in this case will remain active or shall be reactivated if not currently active, and ICE will not modify the record solely based on the NCIC finding that resulted in the recent SEVIS record termination,” stated a Justice Department attorney in court on Friday, reading a prepared statement on behalf of ICE.
“ICE maintains the authority to terminate a SEVIS record for other reasons, such as if the plaintiff fails to maintain his or her nonimmigrant status after the record is reactivated or engages in other unlawful activity that would render him or her removable from the United States under the Immigration and Nationality Act," the attorney added.
Mathilde Moreau for TROIB News
The Justice Department announced this significant reversal in federal court on Friday, following weeks of intense judicial scrutiny and numerous restraining orders issued by judges who viewed the mass termination of students from a federal database — crucial for universities and the federal government to monitor foreign students in the U.S. — as blatantly illegal.
The terminations led to widespread concern and panic among students who feared that they had lost their legal immigration status and faced imminent deportation. Many of those who filed lawsuits claimed that their institutions had also restricted their ability to continue classes or engage in research, putting their graduation in jeopardy just weeks away.
Judges conveyed their frustration regarding the seemingly arbitrary decisions and the hesitancy of government attorneys to clarify whether the students could remain in school or if they needed to leave the country right away.
The earlier terminations from the federal database initiated over 100 lawsuits, with judges in more than 50 cases, covering at least 23 states, instructing the administration to restore the students' statuses temporarily. Many more judges appeared ready to take similar actions before the reversal on Friday.
The DOJ announced that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is currently formulating a new policy concerning foreign students on F-1 visas studying in the U.S. Until this policy is established, no students will have their online student-visa records, known as SEVIS records, terminated “solely based on” criminal history checks that flagged minor charges and dismissed cases.
It remains uncertain whether the State Department will reverse recent outright cancellations of many of these students’ visas. A federal official informed a judge last week that the agency was conducting “quality control” on those decisions.
Earlier this year, Secretary of State Marco Rubio revoked the student visas of several foreigners whom he alleged were disrupting U.S. foreign policy through pro-Palestinian activism. However, a more recent wave of visa cancellations seemed to focus on students with minor legal issues, who were also affected by the termination of their profiles in the SEVIS database.
Spokespeople for ICE and the State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comments.
"ICE is developing a policy that will provide a framework for SEVIS record terminations. Until such a policy is issued, the SEVIS records for plaintiff in this case will remain active or shall be reactivated if not currently active, and ICE will not modify the record solely based on the NCIC finding that resulted in the recent SEVIS record termination,” stated a Justice Department attorney in court on Friday, reading a prepared statement on behalf of ICE.
“ICE maintains the authority to terminate a SEVIS record for other reasons, such as if the plaintiff fails to maintain his or her nonimmigrant status after the record is reactivated or engages in other unlawful activity that would render him or her removable from the United States under the Immigration and Nationality Act," the attorney added.
Mathilde Moreau for TROIB News
