A district judge ruled Thursday the federal government could not revoke the legal status of international students after a nationwide crackdown on foreign individuals at U.S. universities.
The case involves two dozen students who were admitted to the U.S. on F-1 nonimmigrant visas who saw their status changed when the federal government took them off the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS).
Along with blocking terminations, District Judge Jeffrey White, who was appointed by former President George W. Bush, is enjoining the federal government from arresting the plaintiffs or those similarly situated or transferring those arrested outside of their resident jurisdiction.
The Hill has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for comment.
This is the first time a judge has issued a nationwide injunction after dozens of lawsuits appeared in response to the federal government’s crackdown on international students.
“That initiative is a uniform policy that uniformly wreaked havoc not only on the lives of Plaintiffs here but on similarly situated F-1 nonimmigrants across the United States and continues do so,” White said, noting in other cases a nationwide relief request was not made.
Thousands of international students saw their visas get revoked this spring, with the government arguing it has the authority under the Immigration and Nationality Act.
Many of the students received notices that their legal status was revoked with little explanation, with some choosing to leave the country on their own to avoid arrest.
The DHS has restored many of the students originally taken off SEVIS, but fear has grown as the administration has made clear it is not done targeting foreign students.
“Finally, Defendants’ actions since these cases were filed raise the concern that they may be trying to place any future SEVIS terminations beyond judicial review. At each turn in this and similar litigation across the nation, Defendants have abruptly changed course to satisfy courts’ expressed concerns,” White wrote.
“It is unclear how this game of whack-a-mole will end unless Defendants are enjoined from skirting their own mandatory regulations,” he added.
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