In recent weeks, the Trump administration has revoked more than 1,500 student visas nationwide, targeting student visa holders for political activity deemed a threat to national security—such as participation in pro-Palestinian protests. The move has left the immigration status of hundreds of international students in limbo.
Amid mounting pressure from federal officials, colleges and universities across the country began disenrolling affected students. But according to a new report, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) lacked the authority to revoke student immigration status—a position supported by a recent Michigan court ruling.
The ruling found that ICE does not have legal authority to terminate a student's immigration status, even if their record in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, or SEVIS, is marked as "terminated." That database is used by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to track international students, but, according to court documents, it does not determine legal status.
"Under pressure from ICE, schools have been advising students they are out of status after SEVIS record termination, and in many cases disenrolling them as a result," said Nathan Yaffe, an attorney representing international students in deportation cases. "Now ICE has submitted sworn declarations that SEVIS record termination has no legal effect on the student whatsoever."
In many cases, the cancellations have been based on background checks that flagged minor infractions, such as traffic violations. However, Secretary of State Marco Rubio previously stated that the U.S. was revoking visas of individuals whose actions were considered contrary to national interests, including participation in pro-Palestinian demonstrations and unrelated legal issues.
As reported by The Intercept, DHS acknowledged in court filings that SEVIS terminations do not equate to a loss of lawful nonimmigrant status.
According to Inside Higher Ed, as of April 18, more than 240 colleges and universities had identified over 1,550 international students and recent graduates affected by visa revocations. Most were first alerted to the issue after checking the SEVIS database, which has been updated unilaterally by federal authorities.
Based on the Trump administration's recent actions, some universities believed certain international students had lost their student immigration status because a terminated record in the SEVIS database is broadly taken to mean a student has fallen out of status.
However, Andre Watson, assistant director of Homeland Security Investigations' national security division, stated in court that terminating a SEVIS record does not terminate a student's legal status.
Despite Watson's testimony, the DHS website continues to suggest that a terminated SEVIS record reflects the end of a student's legal immigration status, fueling ongoing uncertainty for students and schools alike.
"Any school that continues to disenroll (and refuses to re-enroll) students is voluntarily punishing students to align itself with the Trump administration's agenda," Yaffe said. "Disenrolling students was already a blatant capitulation, and now it is a wholly inexcusable one," he added.
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