Claims Trump administration made U-turn on student visa revocations meet quick pushback

The Trump administration restored student visa registrations for thousands of foreign students studying in the US who had minor or dismissed legal infractions, local media reported Friday, claims followed by a quick pushback by administration officials.

The US Justice Department announced the reversal in federal court Friday after weeks of legal scrutiny and over 100 lawsuits filed across at least 23 states over the controversial policy, Politico reported.

However, administration officials insisted that no visa revocations have been reversed despite acknowledging changes made to the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS).

“We have not reversed course on a single visa revocation. What we did is restore SEVIS access for people who had not had their visa revoked,” Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), told Anadolu in a statement.

SEVIS is the web-based system used by DHS to monitor the immigration status of foreign students, most of whom hold F-1 visas.

The news follows weeks of legal pressure and more than 100 lawsuits filed across at least 23 states.

The affected students, some of them close to graduation, were blocked from attending classes or doing research, sparking fears of losing legal status or facing deportation.

According to Inside Higher Ed, which tracks student visa terminations, as of April 24 more than 280 colleges and universities have reported that over 1,800 international students and recent graduates have had their legal status changed by the State Department.

The Trump administration's aggressive policy on revoking student visas, often without notice, and pushing for deportation has raised concerns about free speech rights as well as discouraging foreign students from seeking education in the US.