SAN FRANCISCO — The federal government is reversing the termination of legal status for international students around the U.S. — including two students at University of the Pacific — after many filed court challenges against the Trump administration crackdown, a government lawyer said Friday.
The records in a federal student database maintained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement had been terminated in recent weeks, often without the students or their schools being notified. Judges around the country had already issued orders temporarily restoring the students’ records in dozens of lawsuits challenging the terminations.
More than 1,200 students nationwide suddenly lost their legal status or had visas revoked, leaving them at risk for deportation. Some left the country, while others have gone into hiding or stopped going to class.
In one of the lawsuits, a lawyer for the government read a statement in federal court in Oakland that said ICE was restoring the student status for people whose records were terminated in recent weeks.
Also Friday, the statement was read by a government attorney in a separate case in Washington, according to attorney Brian Green, who represents the plaintiff in that case. Green provided The Associated Press with a copy of the statement that the government lawyer emailed to him.
It says: “ICE is developing a policy that will provide a framework for SEVIS record terminations. Until such a policy is issued, the SEVIS records for plaintiff(s) in this case (and other similarly situated plaintiffs) will remain Active or shall be re-activated if not currently active and ICE will not modify the record solely based on the NCIC finding that resulted in the recent SEVIS record termination.”
Green said that the government lawyer said it would apply to all students in the same situation, not just those who had filed lawsuits.
SEVIS is the Student and Exchange Visitor Information Systems database that tracks international students’ compliance with their visa status. NCIC is the National Crime Information Center, which is maintained by the FBI.
Earlier this week, Stockton-based UOP confirmed that two of its international students had their visas revoked by the Trump administration.
“To date, University of the Pacific is aware of two individuals connected with the university whose visas have been impacted. We are working closely with both,” university spokesperson Erica Hechtkopf told Stocktonia.
Neither the students’ identities nor their nationalities were released. About 11% of UOP’s student population — 777 students out of 6,944 among campuses in Stockton, Sacramento and San Francisco — are from other countries, Hechtkopf said.
On Friday afternoon, university officials reported that both Pacific students whose visas were revoked had been restored to “active” status.
“They are able to continue their education and work at Pacific,” the university said in a statement. “The university will continue to support international students and community members as new developments unfold.”
Assemblymember Rhodesia Ransom, D-Tracy, welcomed the news.
“I applaud today’s decision by ICE to restore the legal status of our international students, a victory born from the relentless advocacy and courage of those who stood up for due process and fairness,” Ransom said in a statement. “In District 13 and across California, we will continue to speak out for our community members, ensuring that every student, regardless of origin, has a fair chance at quality education.”
Last month, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said his department was revoking visas held by visitors who were acting counter to national interests, including some who protested Israel’s war in Gaza and those who face criminal charges. But many students whose status was terminated said they did not fall under those categories or had only minor infractions on their record.
Unlike some other college campuses, UOP has hardly been a hotbed of political activity, however. It was not mired in the large-scale Israel-Hamas war disturbances that plagued other California campuses, including UCLA and USC.
In lawsuits in several states, students argued they were denied due process. Many were told that their status was terminated as a result of a criminal records check or that their visa had been revoked.
International students and their schools were caught off guard by the terminations of the students’ records. Many of the terminations were discovered when school officials were doing routine checks of the international student database or when they checked specifically after hearing about other terminations.
At least 1,220 students at 187 colleges, universities and university systems have had their visas revoked or their legal status terminated since late March, according to an Associated Press review of university statements, correspondence with school officials and court records. The AP has been working to confirm reports of hundreds more students who are caught up in the crackdown.
Associated Press reporters Janie Har, Kate Brumback and Christopher L. Keller, along with Stocktonia reporter Chris Woodyard contributed to this report.