WASHINGTON (AP) – The US government has begun to throw away new light Enforcement of international studentswrote about how it targets thousands of people and laid out the basis to end their legal status.
The new details emerged in a lawsuit filed by several students who suddenly cancelled their status in recent weeks.
For the past month, foreign students in the US have been rattling to learn that records have been deleted from the student database maintained by immigration and customs enforcement agencies. Some I went hidden He was afraid he would either be greeted by immigration authorities or abandoned his research to get home.
On Friday, federal officials said they had a government official after increasing the number of court issues. Restoring the legal status of international students We have developed a framework to guide future termination. The new policy was shared in court filing Monday. Documents issued over the weekend will incorporate guidance on various reasons why students can cancel their status.
Brad Baneas, an immigration lawyer representing students who have finished their status, said the new guidelines would significantly expand ICE’s authority beyond previous policies that did not count visa revocations as a basis for losing their legal status.
“This has given them a cult blanche to deport those students, even if they’ve done nothing wrong,” Banius said.
Many students who had visas said they had revoked or lost their legal status. Some didn’t know why they were targeted at all.
Government lawyers provided some explanations at Tuesday’s hearing for Banias’ client Akshar Patel, an international student studying Texas information systems. Patel’s status ended this month and has since been revived — and he is seeking a preliminary court ruling to ensure he is not deported.
In court applications and hearings, Department of Homeland Security officials said they had executed student visa holder names through the National Crime Information Center, an FBI-operated database that embedded information related to the crime. This includes the names of suspects, missing people and those arrested.
In total, about 6,400 students were identified in the database search, US District Judge Ana Reyes said at a hearing Tuesday. One of the students was Patel, who was handed over in 2018 and was charged with reckless driving. The bill was eventually removed. This is also information available at NCIC.
Patel will appear in the spreadsheet along with 734 students whose names have been featured at NCIC. The spreadsheet was transferred to Homeland Security officials. Within 24 hours of receiving it, he replied, “Finish everything with Sevis.” It is another database that lists foreigners who have legal status as US students.
Reyes said the short time slot suggested that no one was reviewing the records individually to find out why student names appear in NCIC.
Reyes, appointed by President Joe Biden, said: She said the government has shown “a complete lack of concern for individuals who have come to this country.”
When the university discovered that it had no legal status for its students, it prompted confusion and confusion. In the past, legal status has been normally renewed after the university told the government that students were not studying in schools, according to university officials. In some cases, the university instructed students to quit their jobs or take classes, warning them that they could be deported.
Still, government lawyers said that even if some students were labeled as “unable to maintain their status,” changes to the database did not mean that students actually lost their legal status. Instead, the lawyer said it was intended to be the “red flag of the investigation.”
“Patel is legally present in the United States,” said Andre Watson of the Department of Homeland Security. “He is not subject to immediate detention or removal.”
Reyes refused to issue an interim injunction, urging both sides to attorneys to come to the settlement, and to assure Patel staying in the US.
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