SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — Several international students at San Diego-area universities who had their visas abruptly rescinded in recent weeks have had their records restored as federal officials have started to walk back the Trump administration’s crackdown.
Three of the four students at San Diego State University impacted by the administration’s targeting of F-1 visa holders over the last few weeks had their legal status reinstated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the school confirmed to FOX 5/KUSI Friday.
For UC San Diego, the university says 18 of the 35 international students who previously had their legal status pulled similarly had it restored as of Friday.
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Due to privacy laws, neither university disclosed any additional details regarding the students, including whether those whose records remain terminated are at risk for deportation.
University of San Diego could not immediately confirm whether the one student who had been impacted by the effort in recent weeks had been impacted by the visa registration restoration.
The reinstatement of visa records for San Diego-area students comes amid mounting legal challenges to Trump’s stepped up immigration enforcement against more than 160 college campuses nationwide.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said last month the crackdown would target student visa holders who they believed to be acting counter to U.S. interests, notably in connection to protests over Israel’s war in Gaza, or those facing criminal charges.
However, many of the students impacted did not appear to fall into either of these buckets. Some said they had minor infractions on their record — ones that would not be enough to revoke the visa — or were given no reason at all.
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Government lawyers on Friday in proceedings for at least two of the lawsuits filed over these actions said Immigration and Customs Enforcement will be developing a policy to “provide a framework” for terminations of active status in the federal student database, SEVIS.
Until a policy is issued, federal officials said the F-1 visa registration records in the database will either remain active or be re-activated, if they had been pulled.
Immigration attorneys in posts on social media Friday have encouraged international students to check with their designated school official to understand how the government’s move to reinstate records in SEVIS may impact their status.
In a statement to FOX 5/KUSI, UCSD added it will continue to monitor SEVIS records closely and work with students to “provide them with relevant information.”
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