The Trump administration has begun to reinstate visas for hundreds of foreign students whose legal status was abruptly revoked, amid deportation fears.
This announcement follows a wave of legal challenges, with more than 100 lawsuits filed by students who had been suddenly stripped of their right to study at American universities.
Marco Rubio, Secretary of State, had previously indicated that the administration would revoke the legal status of individuals deemed to be acting against U.S interests.
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These visa revocations sparked widespread panic over potential deportations, as Elizabeth Kurlan, Justice Department lawyer, indicated that immigration authorities were developing a new system for reviewing and terminating the visas of international students.
According to figures from Inside Higher Ed, approximately 1,800 students and 280 universities were affected by the policy.
Many of the impacted students had reportedly participated in political protests or had minor criminal records, such as traffic violations.
The policy has generated significant fear and confusion across campuses nationwide, prompting some students to leave the United States pre-emptively to avoid possible detention or deportation.
On Friday, the Justice Department advised the court that students’ records would be restored in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), which monitors compliance with visa requirements. However, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) retains the authority to terminate a SEVIS record for other reasons.
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“If a student fails to maintain their non-immigrant status after reactivation, or engages in unlawful activity that could render them removable under the Immigration and Nationality Act, their SEVIS record may still be terminated,” Kurlan told a federal court in California, according to NBC News.
Lawyers representing the affected students argued that the mass revocations breached their clients’ legal rights and that the threat of detention severely disrupted their ability to continue their education.
Attorneys reported that students across the country have recently seen their records reinstated, NBC News noted. Nevertheless, concerns remain over the long-term impact.
Professor Elora Mukherjee, director of the Immigrants’ Rights Clinic at Columbia Law School, commented, “This is a reprieve for many students who have had their SEVIS status reinstated, but it does not mark the end of the ordeal for those whose records remain terminated.”
