Several international Northeastern students have had their Student and Exchange Visitor Information System records restored, allowing them to continue their studies in the United States, according to an April 25 update from the university.
The restorations come after officials from the Trump administration announced that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, would restore the Student and Exchange Visitor Information, or SEVIS, status of international students whose visas had not already been revoked.
According to Northeastern’s FAQ page, “some” Northeastern students’ SEVIS records had been previously terminated.
The Department of Homeland Security “tracks and monitors” all international students through their SEVIS record, which determines whether a student is legally allowed to study in the U.S. Recently, records permitting students to be in the country have been terminated without formal notification to Northeastern or the students affected, according to Northeastern’s “Navigating a New Political Landscape” FAQ page; a student’s record being canceled can put them at risk of arrest or deportation.
However, an anonymous senior Department of Homeland Security official told The New York Times that students who’ve had their legal status restored are still at risk for it being removed again once the government comes up with a system to standardize the revocations.
The Department of Homeland Security was facing mounting legal pressure after a wave of students with terminated SEVIS records sued the Trump administration for allegedly denying them due process.
On April 24, the American Civil Liberties Union, or ACLU, of Maine announced plans to challenge the visa revocation of an international student on an F-1 visa at Northeastern’s Roux Institute in Portland.
“For students who have had their visas cancelled, it throws their life in disarray,” Zachary Heiden, chief counsel of ACLU Maine, told News Center Maine. “These students are not even given an opportunity to know what the problem is or to address any problems there might be. We’ve gone to court asking the court to order the government to give people basic fairness.”
ACLU Maine joined around 100 students and organizations who have filed lawsuits against the Department of Homeland Security over their legal right to study in the U.S. being rescinded with little to no explanation.
In response to requests for comment about the reinstated SEVIS records, the university directed The Huntington News to its FAQ page.
Immigration officials are working on a new system for processing SEVIS record terminations and won’t make additional changes or further revocations in the meantime, according to a statement read in a Washington federal court April 25 by Justice Department lawyer Joseph Carilli. It is unclear when the new system will be implemented.
“We have not reversed course on a single visa revocation,” Tricia McLaughlin, a Homeland Security Department spokesperson, told The New York Times. “What we did is restore SEVIS access for people who had not had their visa revoked.”
As of April 24, more than 1,800 students and recent graduates across the United States have had their visas revoked, including more than 40 across Northeastern’s 10 U.S. campuses.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio previously stated that anyone with a criminal record or deemed a “national security” concern would be targeted for visa revocation, but several visas have been terminated for students without any criminal record. While high-profile cases have been linked to participation in pro-Palestinian protests and speech, Northeastern’s FAQ page states there is “no evidence that a Northeastern student or recent graduate had their status revoked due to political advocacy or speech.”
Aoun joined hundreds of university leaders in condemning the Trump administration’s actions affecting higher education by signing a joint statement April 23. The letter, which now has more than 480 signatures, denounces the administration’s “unprecedented government overreach” that is “endangering American higher education” but does not mention visa revocations or the threat to international students.
