International students in Minnesota and across the country have been worried about the law for weeks now they can breathe a sigh of relief, at least for now.
The Trump administration changed its mind about deporting thousands of students who were learning in the United States. This left many of them in legal limbo and worried about their future.
The decision to restore students’ SEVIS accounts, which are part of the government’s student visa system and allow them to stay in the U.S., comes after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement ended records on several university campuses in Minnesota, often without warning, according to the students.
A lawyer for the Justice Department told a federal district court in Washington, D.C., that more than 4,700 students would have their student visa records restored. This is according to lawyer Brian Green, who is representing a plaintiff in one of the many lawsuits challenging the registration terminations.
A Justice Department attorney’s statement shared by Green says that the Trump administration said it would keep or reactivate the SEVIS records of people whose visas were cancelled until ICE makes a decision on a policy that will guide future cancellations of these types of visas. In the statement, it was said that SEVIS licenses would not be changed “solely based” on the criminal record checks that led to the recent record cancellations.
Many Minnesota students noticed the effects of the storm almost right away on Friday.
David Wilson is an immigration lawyer who helps a number of students who are touched on a number of campuses. He says this decision is a win. It came about after court challenges.
A federal judge told ICE last week to restore the legal standing of two of Wilson’s clients.
“It’s good to see that the courts are willing to draw a line that this is essentially executive branch overreach,” he said.
Officials at St. Cloud State University say that as of Friday afternoon, seven of the eight students had their visas added back on. Eight out of every twelve students at Mankato State University are now doing something. The University of Minnesota in Minneapolis says that four out of eleven student statuses have been restored.
Wilson says that this means students can continue to study without fear for now. However, as of Friday, immigration enforcement had not said when the new policy would be made public.
“I see it as a positive step but don’t think this is the end of discussion,” said Wilson.
