WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced in a Michigan court recently it does not have the right to terminate students’ immigration statuses by removing their records in the Student Exchange and Visitor Information System (SEVIS) that gives universities and officials data to track information about students on visas in the U.S., reports the Intercept.
“Just because they are terminated in SEVIS does not terminate their nonimmigrant status in the United States,” said Andre Watson, director of the national security division for Homeland Security Investigations.
“Hundreds of students who have had their SEVIS records terminated by DHS in recent weeks… and were then told by their schools or the government that they have thus lost their immigration status and must immediately leave the country.” – The Intercept
This will be shocking to “hundreds of students who have had their SEVIS records terminated by DHS in recent weeks—and were then told by their schools or the government that they have thus lost their immigration status and must immediately leave the country,” according to the Intercept.
Because a termination record in the database is broadly taken to mean a student has fallen out of status, hundreds of students believed they had lost their student immigration status.
The latest claims by the DHS “are sure to only sow further confusion, but they are strong grounds,” Attorney Nathan Yaffe, representing international students, told the Intercept.
The DHS declaration was prompted in response to a lawsuit filed by four Michigan students who are suing the Trump administration over the loss of their F-1 student statuses.
“The government argues that the case should be thrown out, since DHS did not remove the students’ statuses when it terminated their SEVIS records,” the Intercept reported.
In all, 16 lawsuits from more than 50 students have challenged the Trump administration over visa revocations and deportation threats, but the Michigan case is the first time the government said that “its SEVIS interventions had no bearing on a student’s status,” the Intercept stated.
In a California case, a student received an email directly from the State Department stating that their student visa had been revoked. The email does not distinguish between visa status and legal immigration status, failing to inform the student that they still have lawful immigration status in the country.
The Homeland Security website also suggests that a terminated record indicated the student’s legal status has been terminated too, stating the student “loses all on-an/or off-campus employment authorization, cannot re-enter the United Status on the terminated SEVIS record, and that ICE agents may investigate to confirm the departure of the student,” according to the story in the Intercept.
Schools have been reacting to SEVIS terminations, not visa revocations, when they have disenrolled students or advised students to leave the country, although revocation of a student visa is not, in and of itself, grounds for a student to be deported, added the Intercept, noting this can be a horrific process for students, as the cases of detained legal permanent residents like Mahmoud Khalil and Mohsen Mahdawi make clear.
“Federal judges hearing students’ cases around the country have so far not been impressed with the government’s arguments. At least five federal courts have issued temporary restraining orders on deportation orders linked to SEVIS terminations.
Last Wednesday, District Court Judge Ana Reyes in Washington, D.C., specifically ordered DHS’s Watson to testify in court over the claims in his declaration, which was also submitted by the government in the case filed by students there,” according to the Intercept.
The Department of Homeland Security has not released data on how many immigrants have used CBP Home, the Los Angeles Times notes, but it has launched an ad campaign promoting voluntary departure. “If you don’t, we will find you and we will deport you,” said DHS Secretary Kristi Noem in the ad.
Kevin Johnson, a professor at UC Davis School of Law, told the Los Angeles Times, “One of the impacts of the various Trump policy measures is to strike terror and fear in immigrant communities. It’s designed to show immigrants, ‘We’re out to get you.’”
The Los Angeles Times notes these stories reflect a growing trend, particularly in California, where even with broader access to services, undocumented immigrants are expressing fear and uncertainty about their futures.
Luz Gallegos, director of the TODEC Legal Center, told the Los Angeles Times her team fields daily inquiries from people considering self-deportation. “What comes up a lot in the sessions is, ‘Prefiero irme con algo, que irme sin nada,’” she said to Los Angeles Times— “I’d rather leave with something than leave with nothing.”
According to the Los Angeles Times, President Trump began his second term by discontinuing Biden-era protections like the CBP One mobile app, replacing it with a new system, CBP Home, which allows immigrants to inform the government of their intent to leave.
The Los Angeles Times wrote, “The day he was inaugurated, Trump disabled the CBP One mobile app… Thousands of migrants camped at the border had their asylum appointments abruptly canceled.”
Elena, another undocumented immigrant in the Los Angeles Times report, is also preparing to return to Mexico with her husband after living in the Inland Empire for nearly 20 years. The Los Angeles Times reports that both suffer from health conditions and have relied on small catering jobs to survive.
“My heart hurt so badly,” Elena said, recalling seeing detained immigrants at a checkpoint. “People who had made their lives here, and suddenly this happens and their dreams are destroyed,” reports the Los Angeles Times.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Elena and her husband plan to move to Chiapas, where they own nearly five acres and hope to build a ranch. “Many people have said that maybe I will feel more free there,” she said. “Because here you feel chained up.”
The Los Angeles Times also discusses a conversation with Maria, who has lived in California’s Coachella Valley for 30 years and plans to return to Michoacán, Mexico. Like others interviewed, she requested only her first name be used. “It’s as if I’m being divided into two parts,” she told the Los Angeles Times. “I haven’t been happy here, and I won’t be happy there.”
