The U.S. government has begun to provide more details regarding recent actions taken against international students, outlining the processes used to target thousands of individuals and the justifications for revoking their legal status.
These new details have emerged through legal challenges initiated by some of the affected students whose status was abruptly canceled in recent weeks with limited explanation. Over the past month, international students across the country have expressed concern after discovering their records had been removed from a student database maintained by immigration authorities. Some students reportedly went into hiding due to fears of deportation or discontinued their studies to return to their home countries.
Following mounting legal pressure, federal officials announced on Friday that the government would reinstate the legal status of the affected international students while it develops a framework to govern future status terminations. In a recent court filing, the government shared its new policy: a document issued over the weekend that provides guidance on various reasons why a student’s status can be canceled, including the revocation of the visas they used to enter the U.S.
An immigration attorney representing a student whose status was terminated stated that the new guidelines significantly broaden the authority of immigration officials beyond previous policy, which did not consider visa revocation as grounds for losing legal status. Previously, if a student’s visa was revoked, they could remain in the U.S. to complete their studies but would be unable to re-enter the country if they departed. The attorney argued that this new policy grants immigration authorities broad power to deport students even if they have not committed any significant wrongdoing.
Many of the students who had their visas revoked or lost their legal status reported having only minor infractions on their records, such as traffic violations. Some stated they were unaware of the reasons they were targeted.
Government lawyers provided some explanation during a recent court hearing in the case of an international student studying information systems. This student’s status was terminated and subsequently reinstated, and they are seeking a preliminary court order to prevent their deportation.
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