By our Reporter
A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from terminating the legal status of international students to stay in the US.
This order, issued by the US District Judge Jeffrey White, on Thursday, prevents the government from terminating the legal status of foreign students while a court case challenging the previous terminations was pending.
This directive delivered a significant setback to the administration’s attempts to crack down on international students as part of President Donald Trump’s broader deportation effort.
According to CNN, the case concerns an attempt by the administration to tamper with SEVIS records of students, putting them at risk of deportation.
The SEVIS database stands for the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, and it is a system used by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to track and monitor international students and exchange visitors.
It would be recalled that several international students have had their visas revoked or legal status terminated.
While many courts have granted protection to individual foreign students who sued the administration, the San Francisco district judge’s order goes further. It blocks the federal government from arresting, detaining, or moving students and others across the country while similar cases are still being decided.
According to the judge, the students were likely to succeed in their claim that the actions violated federal rule-making procedure and were arbitrary.
This development comes shortly after the US government announced that it was ending Harvard University’s ability to enrol international students by revoking its Student and Exchange Visitor Programme certification.
By doing so, existing international students at the university must transfer or lose their legal status to reside in the US before the next academic year begins.
