Trump administration reverses international student visas terminations

In a reversal, the Trump administration said Friday it would not cancel the visas of more than 1,500 international students nationwide, according to Politico and other media reports.

In California, more than 100 students who had their visas abruptly terminated this month will now have them restored — at least temporarily. Those included students at University of California and California State University campuses, Stanford University and Santa Monica College.

In federal court Friday, a Department of Justice attorney said Immigration and Customs Enforcement “is developing a policy that will provide a framework” for visa terminations and that until that policy is issued, visas for international students nationwide “will remain active or shall be reactivated if not currently active.”

The initial cancelation of visas was abrupt and caused panic among college officials and international students, who were often not offered explanations. Experts monitoring the cancellations nationally said many of the students had past interactions with law enforcement — in some cases infractions as minor as a traffic ticket.

Judges across the nation have granted temporary restraining orders in over 35 lawsuits seeking to reverse the initial visa terminations. Several judges have ruled that forcing students to halt their studies mid-semester qualifies as “irreparable harm.”