Feds to restore status of international students - for now
ICE restoring status of international students - for now
On Friday, the federal government said it is restoring the legal status of many international students who are in the U.S. on a visa.
On Friday, the federal government said it is restoring the legal status of many international students who are in the U.S. on a visa.
Officials also warned that the move is likely temporary.
SEVIS records to be restored for international students
What we know:
More than 1,000 international student visas were suddenly revoked at college campuses across the country earlier this month.
That triggered a wave of lawsuits, spanning at least 23 states. At least 17 temporary restraining orders have been put in place and more than 40 different suits are still pending.
The Justice Department said it would not move forward with the policy while a new system is assembled for reviewing and terminating those types of visas.
DHS assistant secretary Tricia McLaughin released a statement to FOX 4:
"We have not reversed course on a single visa revocation," she said. "What we did is restore SEVIS access for people who had not had their visa revoked."
Federal officials never directly said the revocations were linked to anti-Israel protests on some college campuses last year, but Secretary of State Marco Rubio did acknowledge visas would be taken away if foreign-born students participate in activities which counter national interests.
Local perspective:
At North Texas universities, close to 100 were told their visas were canceled.
At least 73 visas revoked from international students at North Texas universities
On Thursday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio explained why more than 300 international student visas were revoked in recent days.
On Friday, a handful of Texas colleges tell FOX 4 some of its students' online visa files, known as SEVIS Records, had been restored.
A Texas Women's University official says four of six have been reinstated.
Texas A&M confirms 12 of its 23 impacted students have now returned to active status.
What we don't know:
FOX 4 reached out to UT Dallas, UT Arlington and UNT in Denton about the number of students who had been reinstated.
All had a sizable number of international student visas revoked.
Those institutions did not get back to us.
What they're saying:
"Students realize they can fight back. The sad thing is there are a group of students that were told to leave by their schools, and did," said immigration attorney Charles Kuck.
Free speech advocates say revoking the visas is illegal.
"The First Amendment protects every person in the United States, not just U.S. Citizens, and it protects everyone regardless of their immigration status," said David Loy, with the First Amendment Coalition. "It's terribly frightening. A threat to one person's freedom of speech is a threat to everyone's freedom speech. The first victim of censorship is almost never the last."
"The government should not be taking action against anyone, immigration or otherwise, simply based on what they have to say," Loy continued.
The Source: Information in this article comes from the Department of Homeland Security, immigration attorneys and free speech advocates. FOX 4 also received statements from TWU and Texas A&M.