In a surprising turn, the Trump administration has finally begun reinstating the legal status of thousands of F-1 students whose records were terminated in recent weeks. Many students report getting their status updated on SEVIS (Student and Exchange Visitor Information System), a federal database for international students.
Since January, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been targeting immigrant students over political activism and minor past offenses like speeding tickets. However, the students didn’t back down and took the matter to court where the judges offered them help.
Immigration attorneys claim ICE failed to prove their reasoning behind these mass terminations and had to step back. While the authorities still maintain the authority to terminate a student’s SEVIS record, it should be on the grounds of his illegal visa status or engaging in unlawful activities.
This is a huge win for F-1 students but the government might be eying for an even bigger crackdown in the future.
At a hearing in California, the Justice Department’s attorney confirmed that ICE is temporarily restoring the statuses while it works on a new policy. This policy, still in the works, will determine the future of status terminations.
Over 330,000 Indian students in the US can take a sigh of relief for now but the uncertainty remains over their future.
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