The reversal comes after more than 100 lawsuits were filed on behalf of students who lost their ability to study legally at U.S. universities, leading to fears of immediate detention or deportation.
According to a BBC report, Justice Department attorney Elizabeth Kurlan informed a federal court in California that immigration authorities are working on a new system to review and terminate student visas. This policy shift follows a major disruption that affected an estimated 1,800 students across 280 universities, as reported by Inside Higher Ed.
Many of the students targeted for termination had either participated in political protests or faced minor prior offenses, such as driving infractions. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had previously emphasized that the administration intended to revoke the status of individuals whose activities were deemed contrary to U.S. interests.
The mass visa cancellations triggered widespread anxiety on college campuses, prompting some students to leave the United States preemptively in an effort to avoid arrest or deportation.
“Losing their SEVIS records left students vulnerable to immigration actions — and possible detention and deportation,” said Elora Mukherjee, director of the Immigrants’ Rights Clinic at Columbia Law School.
To address the fallout, the Justice Department announced that students' records would be restored within the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), the database used to monitor compliance with visa regulations. However, Kurlan cautioned that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) still maintains the authority to terminate student records for other violations.
“If a student 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,” Kurlan said in a court statement reported by NBC News.
In recent days, attorneys representing students nationwide have confirmed that many SEVIS records have been reactivated, providing some relief to those affected. Nonetheless, legal advocates stress that the ordeal has caused significant disruption and that underlying concerns about due process remain unresolved.
“What I’m hearing is that this is a reprieve for many students who have had their status reinstated in SEVIS,” Mukherjee said. “But this doesn’t mean this ordeal is over for the students who have had their records terminated.”
The Justice Department and ICE have not yet responded to requests for further comment. Meanwhile, legal proceedings and ongoing uncertainty continue to cast a shadow over the experiences of foreign students and the universities that host them.
Would you also like a short, headline-style version of this too for quick posting or news roundup use?
(Example: Trump Administration Reverses Course, Reinstates Foreign Students' Visas After Lawsuits)