The Trump administration has changed course and is reversing the termination of international student records, which had put thousands of students across the country at risk for deportation.
University of Alaska officials confirmed Monday that the four impacted UA students now have restored status in the federal Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, or SEVIS.
Immigration lawyer Margaret Stock represented one of the students. She said the actions of the Trump administration were illegal, and she thinks the administration buckled under the pressure of dozens of lawsuits filed in response.
“They were playing some kind of game where they figured people would self-deport or they just wouldn't react fast enough,” Stock said. “But the legal community rallied pretty quickly, and it was so blatantly illegal that it was easy to win a lawsuit. So people were just filing lawsuit after lawsuit after lawsuit and getting temporary restraining orders immediately.”
The move from the federal government comes amid a crackdown from President Trump on immigration.
Jean Kashikov, a recent University of Alaska Anchorage graduate, was among many students who sued the government and argued that it terminated their SEVIS records without due process, in violation of the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Kashikov is from Kazakhstan and studied aviation and mathematics in Anchorage. He received his termination notice as he was doing his optional practical training, which allows foreign students to work in the country for up to a year, if they are working in their field of study. He was self-employed as a flight instructor in Wasilla.
Cindy Woods, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska, represented Kashikov. She said she was notified that Kashikov's record was restored Monday morning.
“He has status again to be here in the United States and to continue with his optional practical training period,” Woods said. “So he can get back to flight instructing and continuing to earn the hours he needs to launch his career as a pilot.”
In announcing the reversal Friday, attorneys with the Justice Department said the federal government is working on a framework to legally terminate SEVIS records.
