Trump administration reverses international student visa revocations

The Trump administration recently began revoking student visas.  It now has restored the visas of thousands of students studying in the United States who had minor — often dismissed — legal infractions.

The Justice Department announced the policy reversal today after weeks of scrutiny by courts and restraining orders finding that “the mass termination of students from a federal database — used by universities and the federal government to track foreign students in the U.S. — as flagrantly illegal.

The terminations caused concern and even panic for thousands of students who feared the possibility they had lost their legal immigration status and could be quickly deported. Many who sued over the move said their schools had also blocked their ability to continue taking classes or conducting research, sometimes just weeks before graduation.”

The terminations earlier this month sparked more than 100 lawsuits, with judges in more than 50 of the cases — spanning at least 23 states — ordering the administration to temporarily undo the actions. Dozens more judges seemed prepared to follow suit before Friday’s reversal.

The Justice Department said that Immigration and Customs Enforcement is working on a new policy regarding international student visas.

KJ