Chicago – April 25, 2025
The federal government has decided to restore the records of hundreds, possibly thousands, of international students after it recently canceled their entries in an important database. This move had made it difficult for the students to stay in the country.
Before this announcement on Friday, many judges across the U.S. had already ordered the government to bring back the students’ records in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS). This database helps Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) track whether international students are following the rules to stay legally in the U.S. It also tracks any disciplinary actions by schools or criminal charges against students.
Recently, ICE started canceling the SEVIS records of thousands of students, often for minor reasons found after background checks. Without their records in SEVIS, students have a hard time changing or extending their legal status, which means many would have to leave the country soon.
The canceled records are part of a wider effort by the Trump administration to remove noncitizens, both those with and without legal status. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has also said that hundreds of student visas were revoked, particularly for students who took part in pro-Palestinian protests last year.
In response, international students have filed nearly 100 lawsuits across the U.S. On Friday, in a court hearing, a government lawyer announced that the canceled SEVIS records would be temporarily restored while the government works on new rules for canceling records.
