BOSTON--The Trump administration said on Friday it is restoring the previously terminated legal statuses of hundreds of foreign students in the United States while it develops a policy that will provide a framework for potentially ending them in the future.
The decision was announced during a court hearing before a federal judge in Boston who is presiding over a challenge by one of the many international students across the country suing over actions the administration took against them as part of Republican President Donald Trump's hardline crackdown on immigration. Their legal statuses had been revoked as a result of their records being terminated from a database of the approximately 1.1 million foreign student visa holders, putting them at risk of deportation.
Asked how he felt about his legal status reinstatement, one international student who sued the government texted, "relief mostly and still very much anxious about next steps." He asked not to be named.
Since Trump took office on January 20, records for more than 4,700 students have been removed from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement-maintained Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), according to the American Immigration Lawyers Association.
The database monitors compliance with visa terms and records foreign students' addresses, progress toward graduation and other information. To remain in the database, student visa holders have to obey conditions such as limits on employment and avoiding illegal activity.University groups said the cancellations, which stoked fear on campuses, risked scaring off foreign students who are a source of global talent and contributed $44 billion to the U.S. economy last year.
In court filings, the administration had said that it could end students' eligibility to be in the U.S. if they, for example, turn up in a criminal history search.But hundreds of students in lawsuits filed in recent weeks said their records were terminated based on charges that had been dismissed or for minor offenses when legally their status could only be revoked if they were convicted of violent crimes.
