The Trump administration reversed its decision to cancel around 4,700 international students’ legal statuses on Friday, halting a controversial policy that spread fear among non-citizen students nationwide — including at Northwestern.
During a court hearing in Washington, a Justice Department lawyer said that immigration officials have paused Student and Exchange Visitor Information System status terminations — which have affected roughly 4,700 students — while federal agencies work on a new system for reviewing student cases. However, students whose SEVIS status was restored Friday could still have their status and their visa terminated in the future, according to The New York Times.
Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin told The Daily in a statement that the DHS has not reversed course on any visa revocations, but has restored status for people whose visas had not been revoked.
DHS officials use SEVIS to track students’ compliance with their visa requirements. When the State Department revokes a visa, students may remain in the U.S. until they travel abroad, and their SEVIS record may remain. However, when DHS terminates a SEVIS record, the affected student may be required to leave the U.S. immediately.
The Daily has confirmed one case of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement cancelling a SEVIS record for an NU visa holder.
“All impacted NU SEVIS records have been restored to an active status in SEVIS,” a University spokesperson told The Daily.
The reversal comes after President Donald Trump signed a Jan. 29 executive order pledging to cancel visas and deport non-citizen college students who participated in pro-Palestinian protests on their campuses.
Over 100 lawsuits were filed by students, universities and advocacy organizations, stating the government violated due process and targeted students “without sufficient cause,” according to a Time Magazine report.
“The University is encouraged by this development and its impact on our current and former international students. We regularly check the status of our international students and scholars in the federal government’s Student Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS),” a University spokesperson said in a statement to The Daily. “We are in consistent communication with those impacted by this development and are providing guidance.”
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