The Trump administration suddenly resumed cancellations of more than 1,500 student visas held by international students on Friday, and announced dramatic changes due to immigration and customs enforcement during a court hearing in Washington.
Joseph F. Kariri, a Justice Department lawyer, said work on the new system for immigration officers to review and close visas for international students, and the agency will not make any additional changes or make further improvements until the process is complete.
The announcement followed a wave of individual cases filed by students who said they were notified that their legal right to study in the United States was often retracted with minimal explanations. In some cases, students minorly recorded traffic or other violations. However, in other cases, there appeared to be no obvious cause for the withdrawal.
It was not clear how many student visa holders had left the country. Students usually need to leave at least a few weeks in advance. However, the Trump administration sparked panic among students who found themselves under the threat of detention and deportation with minimal explanations. A small number of students, including Cornell graduate students, voluntarily left the country after abandoning the legal battle.
In March, the Trump administration cancelled its visa and launched deportation procedures for many students who participated in demonstrations against Israel amid a wave of campus protests over the war in Gaza last year. Federal judges denounced the brakes for efforts to halt some of these destructions and eliminate those students from the country.
However, in recent weeks, hundreds of students, including many in India and China, have received words that their visas have been revoked. It sparked a wave of panic across the country between students and academics whose prospects for obtaining a degree or completing graduate studies were overthrown without warning.
The immigration and customs enforcement spokesman did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
During hearing Friday, Kariri said the government is ready to file policy changes across other lawsuits, potentially providing some respite for students who accused of reviving visas in the spring and staying in the country through graduation ceremonies.
Other lawsuits, including potential class actions in New England, have been filed in sought to stop the administration from making further cancellations more widely.
