The Department of Justice announced Friday, April 25 in federal court that the Trump administration will reverse the visa revocations of thousands of international students across the country.

First reported by POLITICO, the wholesale reversal in federal court came early Friday morning after weeks of intense scrutiny by courts and dozens of restraining orders issued by judges who deemed the mass termination of students “flagrantly illegal.”

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This decision comes on the heels of hundreds of court cases that resulted in losses for the federal government, many of which were fought by students in Illinois. 

The Department of Homeland Security is now changing their approach to monitoring the status of international students in the U.S. The DOJ said that Immigration and Customs Enforcement is working on a “new policy” and that, until that policy is put in place, no longer will students have their SEVIS records terminated “solely based on” criminal history checks – which had flagged both misdemeanor charges and dismissed cases through their AI-fueled “Catch and Revoke” method. 

According to both POLITICO and the Associated Press, who received statements from those involved in the federal cases, government lawyers say that ICE is “developing a policy that will provide a framework for SEVIS record terminations. Until such a policy is issued, the SEVIS records for plaintiff(s) in this case (and other similarly situated plaintiffs) will remain Active or shall be reactivated if not currently active and ICE will not modify the record solely based on the NCIC finding that resulted in the recent SEVIS record termination.”

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Despite this reversal from the federal government, it is unclear how this decision will affect the students that have already left the country. While their legal status may now be reinstated if they had minor — and often dismissed — legal infractions, coming back into the U.S. with a recently revoked visa is complicated. 

When it comes to the students at Southern Illinois University, the Daily Egyptian will continue to monitor their status as they begin to figure out their next steps. As reported previously, some SIU students had already left. 

University officials are working on providing a statement as more information regarding this situation is released. 

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