The Trump administration announced Friday it would reverse course on its mass cancellation of student visas, pausing further revocations amid growing legal challenges, the New York Times and The Associated Press reported.
During hearings in federal courts in Oakland, California, and Washington, D.C., two attorneys for the Department of Justice said immigration officials are developing a new system for reviewing international student visas. They also said the federal government would suspend additional cancellations until that process is over.
According to NBC, DOJ attorney Elizabeth D. Kurlan said records for international students will be “reactivated for the time being.”
Earlier this month, the federal government revoked the visas of some international students at the University. In a University Senate meeting on April 7, Chancellor Robert Jones said 11 University students were “impacted” by the action. It is unclear whether this number has risen in the weeks since.
The Trump administration said in January they would deport international students who participated in pro-Palestine demonstrations, calling them “Hamas sympathizers.”
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The University did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
UPDATE: April 27
More than 4,700 students nationwide are now confirmed to have had their Student and Exchange Visitor Information System records reinstated on Friday after being previously terminated, according to Reuters.
Robin Kaler, associate chancellor for strategic communications and marketing, said that international diversity is part of what makes the University special in an email to The Daily Illini. She said school officials will monitor changes and provide updates to affected students.
“This has been a frightening and unsettling situation for our international community,” Kaler wrote. “Our International Student and Scholar Services office continues to monitor the SEVIS site and update students as we learn of any changes to their status, and we will continue to support them as they navigate this challenging time.”
