Bay Area judge bars Trump from revoking visas for thousands of international students

San Francisco Chronicle​

23-05-2025

A Bay Area federal judge barred the Trump administration on Thursday from revoking the visas of thousands of international students at U.S. colleges, saying the government had provided no evidence that the students were breaking the law or posed any danger to the public.
Other judges have ruled that immigration officials in President Donald Trump's administration acted illegally in seeking to terminate the legal status of students holding F-1 visas, which allow them to remain in the United States while in college or postgraduate training programs. U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White of Oakland said the injunction he issued Thursday is the first nationwide order, affecting as many as 6,400 students.
Trump's visa revocation program, labeled the Student Criminal Alien Initiative, has 'uniformly wreaked havoc' on the lives of students in California and elsewhere, the appointee of President George W. Bush said in his ruling.
White said his order provides the students 'a measure of stability and certainty that they will be able to continue their studies or their employment without the threat of re-termination hanging over their heads.'
Under federal law, F-1 visas can be revoked if a student falls far behind in college, engages in unauthorized employment, lies to immigration officials or commits a violent crime. White said none of the students who sued in his court violated any of those standards.
Instead, he said, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement ran the names of nearly 1.3 million visa holders through its database and came up with 6,400 students who had had some contact with law enforcement but no disqualifying criminal convictions — one current plaintiff, for example, had no criminal record but had unknowingly enrolled in a university involved in a 'sting' operation.
Federal officials then told those students that they were 'failing to maintain status' and their records would be terminated in the Student and Visitor Exchange Program, which monitors foreign students. Lawyers for the Trump administration told White that the notice was merely a 'red flag' and would not affect the students' immigration status, but the judge disagreed.
When the government takes such an action, White said, a student loses all work authorization, on or off-campus, and ICE agents 'may investigate to confirm the departure of the student.'
Immigration officials have recently taken steps to restore some of the students' records that made them eligible for visas. But White said they have also announced that their action would remain in effect 'until a new policy was implemented' — evidence, he said, that a court order is the students' only legal protection.
The government's actions 'reflect an instinct that has become prevalent in our society to effectuate change: move fast and break things.' White said. 'That instinct must be checked when it conflicts with established principles of law.'
A lawyer for the students said the Trump administration 'realized they had done something completely illegal and tried to walk it back, but they didn't go far enough, and the court realized that.'
'We're happy for the students,' said attorney Marc Van Der Hout, who represented the plaintiffs along with his law partner, Johnny Sinodis. 'We hope this teaches this administration a lesson that courts will step in to stop outrageous actions.'