Visa revocations can now lead to legal status terminations, according to internal memo
Immigration and Customs Enforcement has indicated it could start terminating a person's legal status because of visa revocation.
An internal memo to all Student and Exchange Visitor Program personnel, which falls under ICE, shows an expanded list of criteria for ICE to terminate foreign-born students' legal status in the U.S., including a 'U.S. Department of State Visa Revocation (Effective Immediately).' It was filed in court by the Justice Department on Monday night and dated Saturday.
Previously, there were a variety of reasons for students to lose legal status, including if they stop attending school, lose work authorization or commit certain crimes. But typically students would have the right to due process before the legal status is terminated, attorneys say. Now, according to the memo, visa revocation itself is grounds for the termination of status.
The memo shows expansion of power for ICE. Houston-based immigration attorney Steven Brown said the new policy 'against at least 15 years of SEVP guidance,' referring to the Student and Exchange Visitor Program, which falls under ICE.
'Historically, the Department of State has revoked visas for many reasons,' Brown said. 'But it doesn't impact your non-immigrant status in the US. It's just now they're trying to do that part of it.'
The Trump administration announced Friday at a hearing that the legal statuses of international students whose records were terminated in recent weeks would be restored. In the meantime, the Trump administration said ICE would craft a new policy that will 'provide a framework for status record termination.'
According to the memo, SEVIS records can now be terminated for a number of reasons, ranging from 'exceeded unemployment time' to 'violation of change of status requirements.'
'When SEVP has objective evidence that a nonimmigrant visa holder is no longer complying with the terms of their nonimmigrant status for any reason, then the SEVIS record may be terminated on that basis,' the memo said.
Using its discretion, ICE can also conduct further investigations or initiate removal proceedings based on that evidence.
The memo affirmed an existing rule that the State Department can 'at any time, in its discretion, revoke an alien's visa.'
'When State revokes an alien's visa with immediate effect, ICE should take steps to initiate removal proceedings,' the memo said. 'If State revokes a nonimmigrant visa effective immediately, SEVP may terminate the nonimmigrant's SEVIS record based on the visa revocation with immediate effect.'
The memo underscored that the document cannot be used as a substitute for applicable legal requirements.
'It is not intended to, does not, and may not be relied upon to create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law by any party in any administrative, civil, or criminal matter,' the memo said.
In March, the Trump administration began revoking the visas of thousands of international students in addition to their records and legal statuses. Critics said the administration appeared to be taking aim at those who've participated in political activism or have had previous charges, like DUIs.
After many successful legal challenges to the terminations across the U.S., many international students began to discover that their records were abruptly restored last week, immigration attorneys and universities said. The reinstatements occurred with little to no explanation, the attorneys said. And as of Tuesday, several universities, including Northeastern University, Harvard University and the University of Connecticut, reported that all students affected by the terminations had their statuses restored.
Jath Shao, a Cleveland-based immigration attorney who's represented several international students affected by the visa revocations, said that the new policy presents a new set of challenges for students.
'ICE has now done their homework and issued this memo to give themselves the power that judges just told them they didn't have,' Shao said. 'Students should be concerned that even minor problems can have serious consequences and should consult a lawyer if there is anything in their past to worry about.'
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
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