Desk:The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump appears to be backing down in court. In a significant move, the Trump administration has decided to reverse one of its controversial decisions, ensuring that the visas of international students residing in the U.S. will no longer be canceled.
A government attorney announced on Friday that the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has decided to reverse its earlier decision to revoke the legal status of international students across the country. Representing the Trump administration, the attorney informed a federal court in Oakland that ICE is manually restoring the legal status of students whose records were recently terminated.
Earlier, the Trump administration had placed restrictions on the visas of over 1,000 international students. This decision had triggered panic among many students, who feared arrest or deportation. In response, several affected students filed lawsuits against the government, arguing that their legal status was abruptly revoked without proper justification. Some students claimed they were targeted for minor violations, such as traffic infractions, and in many cases, were not even informed about why their visas were being canceled.
Defending its earlier stance, the Trump administration had stated that the visa cancellations were based on students’ criminal records. However, in a recent statement, government attorney Brian Green said, “ICE is developing a process that will provide a framework for the termination of SEVIS records. Until such a policy is issued, students’ SEVIS records will remain active. If a record is currently inactive, it will be reactivated.”
Previously, several U.S. courts had already issued temporary orders requiring the restoration of international students’ SEVIS records. The Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) is a database maintained in the U.S. to monitor the visa processes of international students. It is operated by the FBI under the National Crime Information Center.