New 180 degree turn of the Donald Trump administration, for the moment. He will return to those who had canceled them with the argument that they had committed some kind of infraction, although in most cases they were very slight or non -existent. Not stating in that registry put those affected under deportation risk.
The Department of Justice has announced the change in a declaration to several federal courts, after having received a lawsuit after demand and dozens of judicial vetoes against their decision this month of the Immigration and Customs Control Agency (ICE) that confirm its legal status within the United States. Often, ICE did not even communicate to those affected that he had taken his name from that database.
Or having to suddenly leave the country, in a large part of the cases just weeks after finishing the course or even completing its graduation, in a situation that had generated a generalized psychosis in numerous universities and other studies centers. Some of the plaintiffs denounced that they had stopped being able to attend class or that they could not complete the course because, not appearing in the records, the studies centers canceled their registrations.
In total, more than a hundred demands had been filed in 23 states, in which in more than half of the cases the judges in charge of the case had ordered the administration to return the names of the complainants to the records. In dozens of other cases, the magistrates prepared to issue similar sentences before Friday.
The Department of Justice explains that ICE is working on a new policy on foreign students. Until it is completed, no student permission will be canceled “only” because in their history minor offenses or charges appear.
“ICE is developing a policy that will provide a framework for the cancellations of names in the Sevis Registry. Until that policy is completed, the records will remain active or reactivated, and ICE will not modify them only because they have found fouls,” says the communication of the department.
Nearly 1.1 million foreign students appear in that registry, which centralizes the data to determine that students meet the conditions of their visa, of type F-1, in terms of registration and assistance to courses, progress towards graduation, good behavior and other requirements. If they do not respect them -if the bad notes make it impossible for them to approve the degree, if they leave the studies, if they start working illegally, or if they commit crimes for example -, they are eliminated from the record and their visa is canceled.
Since Trump assumed power on January 20, more than 4,700 records of the Registry have been withdrawn, according to the American immigration lawyers association. The Administration claimed that they could eliminate them whether to review the database found that they had a criminal history, but the plaintiffs denounce that in their cases the irregularities were mere administrative faults or the charges were removed because they had no base.
The announcement of the Department of Justice has no effect in the cases of other students to whom the State Department has canceled the visa for participating in manifestations or proper activities that the Trump administration considers dangerous for national security and that support the Islamist radical group Hamás.
In a statement, the spokeswoman of the National Security Department, Tricia McLaughlin, said that the revoked visas will not be restored. The new step, he said, only restored the registration in sevis “for the people who have not been canceled the visa.”
