Trump Administration Reinstates Thousands Of Revoked Student Visas
In a stunning turn of events, the Trump Department Of Justice announced a radical shift in its policy aimed at revoking student visas. During a hearing in the Northern District Of California, US Attorney Elizabeth D. Kurlan revealed that thousands of visas that have already been revoked will be reinstated, allowing students facing deportation to remain in the country. The crusade to revoke students visas by the Marco Rubio-led State Department has raised significant concerns over infringements upon free speech and politicization against students who have been vocally critical of Israel. While the abrupt change in the course of this initiative may be seen as a triumph for advocates of free speech championing the constitution, the decision falls short of a victory in that light.
When further expounding upon the motives behind the mass reinstatement, Kurlan stated that the Department Of Justice was working on building a new review process to identify students at risk of having their visas revoked. Until that new process is in place, the government will not continue to use the previous system it employed to cancel student visas which largely relied upon the review of the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, a federal records database tracking student visa holders operated by the Department Of Homeland Security. The previous process relying on SEVIS led to action being taken against student visa holders for minor infractions such as misdemeanors and other charges in instances where cases were dismissed, leading to a slew of lawsuits against the federal government.
A UB graduate filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. government last Tuesday to reinstate his visa that was terminated over a four-year-old traffic misdemeanor.
— The Spectrum (@UBSpectrum) April 24, 2025
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✏️ Ciah Courtney
Read more below ⬇️ https://t.co/Ebyl1DkI6A
However, the new review process being developed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is removed from the most contentious cause for student visa revocations done under the Immigration And Nationality Act. Kurlan emphasized that despite the change of course, the government would still invoke the authority it has used under the INA to exercise the tremendous latitude given to the US Secretary Of State to revoke student visas at its sole discretion. Among the existing parameters to remain unchanged is the determination that a student visa can be revoked on the basis of its holder engaging in "unlawful activity that would render them removable from the U.S. under the Immigration and Nationality Act,” Kurlan said.
The INA codifies what classifies student visa holders as deportable aliens, listing a multitude of classifications for crimes that can be used as a basis to revoke their visa status. That basis of visa revocation has become particularly contentious in many of the high profile instances of students being deported for activism in which they have not been convicted of committing any crimes that would qualify them as a deportable alien under the INA. However, a subsequent section of the law explicitly states that the US Secretary Of State reserves the right to deport and alien if they are deemed to present a serious risk to US foreign policy objectives. In the case of Mahmoud Khalil, the State Department addressed concerns raised over how the pro-Palestinian activist had no criminal record by referring to that power vested in the secretary. The State Department contended that the relevant foreign policy objective to combat antisemitism was sufficient for them to revoke Khalil's visa.
Rubio drunk on power gave the Administration a huge black eye bragging about kicking hundreds of foreign students out of the country for no good reason beyond exercising their First Amendment rights. The guy is useless and needs to go. Are there NO adults in the room in the Trump… pic.twitter.com/NCPUWeQKqv
— Daniel McAdams (@DanielLMcAdams) April 25, 2025
The brief reprieve given to students as ICE works to create a more comprehensive system to review visa revocation looks to only be a cessation to the initiative instead of any sort of conclusion. The new process looks to shift away from pursuing deportations of students based on minor legal infractions identified by SEVIS due to the bevy of lawsuits filed against the government that have inherently created inefficiencies in deporting students. The decision to reinstate previously revoked student visas comes after over 100 lawsuits have been filed against the federal government in 23 states. In more than 50 of those cases, judges have ordered the Trump administration to reinstate the student visas, putting future action by ICE in limbo.
While the fortunes of student visas holders facing deportation for minor legal infractions has changed for the time being, what will remain unchanged is the fate of students who have taken centerstage in the controversy surrounding this initiative. Students like those who have had their visas revoked because of engaging in protests against Israel's war in Gaza will continue to be subject to deportation proceedings at the discretion of the Secretary Of State under the power vested in its office by the Immigration And Nationality Act.
For free speech advocates, there is no cause for celebration as the decision by the Trump administration to reinstate thousands of student visas which it has already revoked is not a sign of any victory against the forces infringing upon the constitution. What it does signify is the governments intent to reconfigure the levers of power it will use to push forward with this agenda, leaving no resolution to the concerns about how it is being used to push an ulterior political motive that wantonly abandons protections given to free speech and assembly under the First Amendment.
