DHS memo offers new guidance on terminating status of international students
AUSTIN (KXAN) — An internal U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement memo filed in court this week indicates what could be new guidance for when an international student can have their legal status terminated, though the policy has not been published in the official journal of the federal government, which shows agency rules and public notices.
The change in guidance comes after ICE abruptly terminated the status of thousands of international students from the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, or SEVIS — a database that tracks the minute-to-minute status of international students attending schools and participating in job training in the United States.
Last week, after nearly 100 lawsuits were filed challenging the terminations, the federal government informed federal judges through a statement that it would reactivate the SEVIS records for thousands of students it had terminated from the system in recent weeks. Some universities, including the University of Texas at Austin, indicated that some students have had their visas reactivated in the SEVIS database.
ICE restoring international students' visa registrations
The filing from the federal government said, in part, '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 re-activated 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.'
'That lasted about 24 hours over the weekend. We got updates saying that ICE was deleting the sentence about 'we will not revoke or terminate SEVIS terminations for the same reasons',' according to Denver-based immigration attorney Brian Green. 'It makes it sound like they're going to re-terminate some of those people again for the same reasons… It's a changing landscape basically every day.'
The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to KXAN's questions about the new guidance or the SEVIS terminations.
The new guidance, dated April 26, appears to expand the reasons why a student's legal status can be terminated in SEVIS. The policy states that the Student Exchange and Visitor Program, or SEVP, can terminate a student's record in SEVIS if the state department revokes their visa.
'It's not clear at this point if this is the new policy that they promised, because it hasn't been broadcast to the schools. So, we are still kind of trying to figure out what exactly that means, and there are some concerns about the new claims that the government is making in that document,' Maryland-based immigration attorney Anna Stepanova said.
KXAN confirmed that at least 104 international students based in Texas had visas revoked or had their immigration status marked as terminated in SEVIS in recent weeks. Our reporting partner, the Texas Tribune, reports the number is at least 252 statewide. KXAN has reached out to universities across the state to independently verify those numbers.
Green is currently representing more than 30 students across the country who were deleted from SEVIS, including six people based in Texas.
Immigration statuses revoked for dozens of international students at Texas universities
According to Green, all the individuals deleted from the system appear to have had some interaction with law enforcement during their time in the U.S., which was recorded in the National Crime Information Center database.
The offenses, according to Green and other immigration attorneys, range from traffic citations to more serious crimes like driving under the influence. In some cases, immigration attorneys say charges were never filed or were dropped.
Stepanova said none of the cases she is aware of meet the current law's criteria for a status violation.
'The law is very specific. It has to be a conviction for a crime of violence for which a term of imprisonment should be one year or more,' Stepanova said.
Green said his clients got notice in early April that they had been terminated from the system. Along with a message saying, 'Individual identified in criminal records check and/or has a visa revoked.'
His lawsuit, filed on behalf of 23 international students, argues that the termination was 'unlawful,' violated the students' Fifth Amendment rights to due process and put them at risk of 'abrupt detention' without prior notice.
Court records indicate that the six Texas-based international students represented in the lawsuit had recently graduated and were completing their Optional Practical Training, or OPT, which allows eligible international students on F-1 visas to temporarily work in the United States in a field related to their studies.
DHS Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said in a press release that it would 'consider aliens' antisemitic activity on social media and the physical harassment of Jewish individuals as grounds for denying immigration benefit requests.'
'There is no room in the United States for the rest of the world's terrorist sympathizers, and we are under no obligation to admit them or let them stay here,' DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said.
'They're reinstating 4,700 people in the SEVIS system. Maybe those people will be terminated again in a week or two. There's a lot of stress on a lot of students right now,' Green said. 'Foreign students are really upset and worried about what is going to happen to them.'
KXAN's Digital Data Reporter Christopher Adams contributed to this report.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
29 minutes ago
- Yahoo
UK man has emergency surgery after being 'shot' in LA protests
A British news photographer has undergone emergency surgery after being hit by non-lethal rounds during protests in Los Angeles. Nick Stern was documenting a stand-off between anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) protesters and police outside a Home Depot in Paramount, a city in LA county and a location known as a hiring spot for day labourers, when a 14mm 'sponge bullet' tore into his thigh. He told the PA news agency: 'My initial concern was, were they firing live rounds? Some of the protesters came and helped me, and they ended up carrying me, and I noticed that there was blood pouring down my leg.' He was treated by a medic who urged him to go to hospital. At one point, Mr Stern says he passed out from the pain. He is now recovering at Long Beach Memorial Medical Centre following emergency surgery. READ MORE: Madeleine McCann update as officers embrace after concluding £300,000 search READ MORE: Two die as car plunges off cliff into sea at popular UK beauty spot Mr Stern, who emigrated to the US in 2007, said he typically makes himself 'as visible as possible' while working in hostile situations. 'That way you're less likely to get hit because they know you're media,' he said. It is the second incident of its kind for Mr Stern, who said he sustained 'substantial' bruising after being hit by another live round during the George Floyd protests in 2020. 'The communities in LA are very tight and very close-knit,' Mr Stern said. 'So an outside organisation like Ice coming in and removing – whatever you want to call it, removing, kidnapping, abducting people from the community – is not going to go down well at all.' It comes after US President Donald Trump announced plans to deploy 2,000 National Guard troops to California to quell the protests, which began on Friday in downtown LA before spreading. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the move was 'essential to halting and reversing the invasion of illegal criminals into the United States'. The decision drew sharp criticism from Democratic politicians, including California Governor Gavin Newsom, who called the move 'purposefully inflammatory'. Demonstrators have been protesting the Trump administration's immigration raids, which last month aimed to detain as many as 3,000 people per day. Despite his injury, Mr Stern says he is eager to return to work. 'I intend, as soon as I am well enough, to get back out there,' he said. 'This is too important and it needs documenting.'
CBS News
44 minutes ago
- CBS News
Los Angeles anti-ICE protesters clash with police, set fires downtown amid National Guard deployment
National Guard troops arrived in downtown Los Angeles on Sunday after being ordered into the city by President Trump in response to a weekend of violent clashes between law enforcement officers and protesters triggered by immigration enforcement operations in the area on Friday. Protesters clashed with soldiers on Sunday afternoon after a crowd gathered near the Metropolitan Detention Center downtown. Images captured by CBS News Los Angeles showed members of the National Guard using what appeared to be tear gas and firing non-lethal rounds toward some groups of demonstrators. Large-scale protests have sprouted throughout L.A. County including in the Westlake District, downtown L.A. and Paramount, and have escalated to violence on several occasions, following a large-scale operation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Friday. A federal law enforcement official tells CBS News that multiple federal law enforcement officers were injured during confrontations with protesters on Friday and Saturday. During a Sunday evening news conference, LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said 39 people had been arrested in total, 29 on Saturday and 10 on Sunday. McDonnell also addressed accusations that the police department was slow to respond to the unrest. "We can't participate in any way in civil immigration enforcement," McDonnell said, noting that the department must comply with the California Values Act, also known as SB 54, which prohibits local and state law enforcement agencies from assisting federal immigration enforcement actions. "Federal partners have been reticent to provide information to us before something happens because of that reason," McDonnell said. Mr. Trump announced Saturday night that he'd deploy the guard in response to the protests. In a post to his Truth Social late Saturday night local time, Trump called the events in L.A. "two days of violence, clashes and unrest." He posted again on Sunday, saying that California Gov. Gavin Newsom and that L.A. Mayor Karen Bass should "apologize to the people of Los Angeles for the absolutely horrible job that they have done, and this now includes the ongoing L.A. riots." "These are not protesters, they are troublemakers and insurrectionists," the post said. "Remember, NO MASKS!" Members of the National Guard stand guard outside the Metropolitan Detention Center, MDC in downtown Los Angeles, California on June 8, 2025. US President Donald Trump deployed 2,000 troops on June 7 to handle escalating protests against immigration enforcement raids in the Los Angeles area, a move the state's governor termed "purposefully inflammatory." Federal agents clashed with angry crowds in a Los Angeles suburb as protests stretched into a second night Saturday, shooting flash-bang grenades and shutting part of a freeway amid raids on undocumented migrants, reports said. FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images A Presidential Memoranda issued Saturday stated that at least 2,000 National Guard troops were going to be deployed. The majority of the soldiers are from the California National Guard, a Defense Department official told CBS News. The U.S. military's Northern Command also confirmed to CBS News that 500 active-duty U.S. Marines based at Twentynine Palms were in "prepared to deploy" status and were ready to augment the National Guard if ordered to do so. Newsom on Saturday criticized Mr. Trump's military deployment, calling it "purposefully inflammatory" in a post to X. In another post he said that Mr. Trump was "escalating the situation." "The federal government is taking over the California National Guard and deploying 2,000 soldiers in Los Angeles — not because there is a shortage of law enforcement, but because they want a spectacle," he said in another post. "Don't give them one." He formally requested that Mr. Trump rescind the deployment of troops to L.A. in a letter addressed to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, saying there was "no need" for the National Guard. "State and local authorities are the most appropriate ones to evaluate the need for resources to safeguard life and property," Newsom's letter said. "Indeed, the decision to deploy the National Guard, without appropriate training or orders, risks seriously escalating the situation." On Sunday afternoon, Newsom's office confirmed that he was in Los Angeles. He met with Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonell and L.A. County Sheriff Robert Luna, shown in a picture posted to his X account. "We're here to keep the peace — not play into Trump's political games," the post said. COMPTON, CA -JUNE 7, 2025: A protester carries a Mexican flag as LA County Sheriff deputies form a law enforcement line to keep demonstrators from advancing after ICE raids at a nearby Home Depot and the Garment District brought out resistance from Los Angeles residents on June 7, 2025 in Compton, California.(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) Gina Ferazzi Bass called the deployment of the National Guard a "chaotic escalation" of the situation in a post to X. "The fear people are feeling in our city right now is very real – it's felt in our communities and within our families and it puts our neighborhoods at risk," she said in part. "This is the last thing that our city needs, and I urge protestors to remain peaceful." Former Vice President Kamala Harris took to X to share a statement on Sunday afternoon. "Los Angeles is my home. And like so many Americans, I am appalled at what we are witnessing on the streets of our city. Deploying the National Guard is a dangerous escalation meant to provoke chaos," her statement said. Standing outside of the Metropolitan Detention Center before violent clashes began on Sunday, Rep. Maxine Waters, who represents parts of South L.A., called Mr. Trump's deployment of the National Guard a "disruption." "People have to stand up for what is right," she said. In a statement to CBS News, an ICE spokesperson said immigration enforcement operations have resulted in the arrest of a "domestic abuser" and a "child rapist." "Irresponsible politicians continue to push dangerous and misleading rhetoric that puts communities and law enforcement at risk," the statement reads. "Even the Los Angeles Police Departments referred to violent riots yesterday as 'peaceful protests.' Americans can look at the videos and images and see with their own eyes that they are dangerous not 'peaceful.'" Protesters clash with law enforcement again A massive crowd of protesters in downtown Los Angeles on June 8, 2025, as demonstrations against immigration operations continue for third straight day. KCAL News For the third straight day, some protesters and activists gathered in downtown L.A. to protest the ongoing operations and presence of federal authorities in the city. The situation appeared calm to start on Sunday, with CBS News Los Angeles reporters at the scene reporting no signs of conflict until about 3 p.m., when a large group of demonstrators marched from the steps of L.A. City Hall to the federal building, where the detention center is located. They began to clash with the large group of federal agents located outside of the building, including some who looked to be members of the National Guard. In response to the escalation, which police said involved people throwing projectiles and concrete in their direction, the LAPD issued a Tactical Alert for the entire city. "An UNLAWFUL ASSEMBLY has been declared for the area of Alameda between 2nd St and Aliso St. A DISPERSAL ORDER has been issued. Arrests are being made. To our media partners, please keep a safe distance from active operations," said a post on X by LAPD's Central Division. Two officers were injured when two motorcyclists tried to breach the LAPD skirmish line in front of the detention center, police said. Both of those people were detained. A Waymo vehicle on fire in the midst of protests in downtown Los Angeles. KCAL News Several blocks away, CBS News Los Angeles reporters saw a smaller crowd of people vandalizing as many as six Waymo driverless vehicles in the area. They were seen spray painting the cars, throwing objects and jumping on the windshields. A short time later, all six of those vehicles were set on fire as the large crowd looked on. Plumes of smoke billowed over the downtown landscape. The flames from the vehicles continued to burn for some time and there were several small explosions seen in footage filmed from CBS News Los Angeles' helicopter. While the demonstrations continued, some people used chairs, garbage ins and street signs to block the road at Temple and Main Street. A few blocks away a Metro bus was stopped by demonstrators. Some were seen spray painting the sides with anti-ICE messages from helicopter footage. The crowd moved into the city's Civic Center at around 5 p.m. Some demonstrators were seen setting fireworks from the CBS News Los Angeles helicopter as LAPD officers on horseback attempted to push the crowd back. A little before 9 p.m., LAPD's Central Division said on X that "Downtown Los Angeles has been declared as an UNLAWFUL ASSEMBLY. You are to leave the Downtown Area immediately." The crowd of demonstrators began to move into the LA Live area, near Arena, at 9:30 p.m., LAPD officers said. They were blocking traffic on Figueroa Street and 11th Street. Demonstrators flood the 101 Freeway as immigration operation protests continue for third day in Los Angeles. KCAL News Crowd swarms 101 Freeway Just before 4 p.m., demonstrators moved onto the 101 Freeway, blocking traffic on the busy thoroughfare. They blocked the Aliso Street offramp and several lanes while hundreds of others watched from the Main Street overpass. In response, the California Highway Patrol closed the entire stretch of freeway that runs through the downtown area. Dozens of CHP officers were seen as they also entered the freeway, stopping under the overpass in a line. They completely overtook southbound lanes, moving protesters back, though the majority of the crowd remained on the other side of the freeway. Several people were seen being taken into custody from the CBS helicopter's aerial view. Officers deployed multiple smoke-filled canisters at the feet of the crowd. Some people attempted to kick the canisters back in the direction of law enforcement. The crowd was completely moved from the road by 5 p.m. With multiple CHP patrol vehicles still parked on the freeway, people began to throw objects over the side of the overpass. They were seen throwing street signs, fireworks, e-scooters and pieces of concrete with the CBS News Los Angeles helicopter overhead. Some of the cars sustained visible damage before officers began deploying non-lethal canisters of smoke towards the crowd. Though they briefly dispersed, they returned to the area and continued to throw items, one of which caught a CHP vehicle on fire. As some officers tried to get into their vehicles, some of the people were seen throwing cement in their direction. Because of the debris and damaged cars now in the road, the southbound 101 Freeway was expected to remain closed until further notice, LAPD said. It's unclear when the cleanup process would begin. In nearby Pasadena, a small gathering began Sunday afternoon after federal officers were spotted at a local hotel, a city spokesperson confirmed. Pasadena Mayor Victor M. Gordo said in a statement that no enforcement activity was confirmed. "We understand the anxiety and fear that these reports can create for many in our community," he said. "I urge our community to remain calm, united, and peaceful, and not be baited or provoked into violence. The right to peacefully assemble and express ourselves is a fundamental part of who we are—not just as Pasadenans, but as Americans." How this all started The new military presence in L.A. comes after three days of clashes between protesters and law enforcement, following a large-scale I.C.E. operation in the city Friday. On Friday evening, multiple immigration operations were conducted across L.A., primarily in the Westlake District, downtown and South L.A., ICE officials confirmed. A single operation at a job site Friday resulted in the arrest of 44 unauthorized immigrants, ICE told CBS News on Sunday. An additional 77 were arrested around the same time frame in the greater L.A. area. The exact charges of those arrests were not yet clear as of Sunday afternoon. ICE confirmed to CBS News Los Angeles that four federal search warrants were served at three locations in L.A. on Friday night. As news of those warrants spread, protests broke out. The most notable of which was Friday night, and took place outside the Federal Building in downtown L.A. after demonstrators learned that detainees were allegedly being held inside. As tensions escalated and some protesters threw objects toward law enforcement, the Los Angeles Police Department eventually issued an unlawful assembly declaration and a dispersal order. Dozens of officers sporting riot gear and shields formed a skirmish line. A federal law enforcement official with knowledge of the operations tells CBS News that ICE requested assistance from LAPD multiple times over the course of Friday night. That same official said it took local authorities more than two hours to honor that request, although a senior city official in L.A. told CBS News that it took LAPD 55 minutes to respond, not two hours. A car burns during a protest in Compton, Calif., Saturday, June 7, 2025, after federal immigration authorities conducted operations. Eric Thayer / AP On Saturday, protests centered in on the city of Paramount after ICE and other federal law enforcement officers were spotted. Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, said in a statement that there was no ICE "raid" on Saturday in Paramount, but instead the agents were staging at an office. The protests in Paramount eventually spilled over into Compton, where hundreds of demonstrators gathered around a car that was set on fire in the middle of the intersection of Alondra Boulevard and Atlantic Avenue, near Dale's Donuts, Images captured at the scene by CBS News Los Angeles showed law enforcement deploying what appeared to be tear gas to disperse crowds and shooting non-lethal munitions at some protesters. Going forward U.S. Rep. Nanette Barragán, who represents parts of L.A.'s South Bay, tells CBS News that ICE enforcement and removal operations are expected daily for the next 30 days in LA County. A federal law enforcement official tells CBS News that deputies with LA County Sheriff's Office are now assisting ICE officials with perimeter protection, although they will not be assisting with any immigration enforcement efforts. , and contributed to this report.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Downtown LA is a scene of pandemonium and lawlessness
A shirtless man waving a Mexican flag stands atop a burning car in the heart of Los Angeles, as another man throws a traffic cone into the flames and some play drums and shout chants in opposition to immigration officials. In the background, city hall can be glimpsed through a haze of thick black smoke. The downtown district of one of America's biggest cities was a scene of pandemonium and lawlessness as protests, which had previously been mainly peaceful, turned ugly. Critics of Donald Trump said the president's extraordinary decision to deploy National Guard troops, defying the wishes of the state's governor, had inflamed tensions and stoked emotions. The 101 Freeway, the main highway cutting through the downtown area, was also closed down for much of the day as police and protesters faced off, with flash bang devices sending some people scattering. Bottles and other projectiles were hurled towards police, who responded by using tear gas and rubber bullets. It was this chaos, his critics say, that Donald Trump wanted to provoke. Trump's decision to call in 2,000 National Guard troops, several hundred of whom were on the streets of LA on Sunday, was taken without consultation with the California governor and LA mayor, and marked an extraordinary escalation by the president. The military arrived on Sunday morning and was ordered to guard federal buildings, after two days of protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers. As part of Trump's closed border policy, ICE has been ordered to find, detain and deport as many illegal immigrants as possible, and it was these raids that stoked the first signs of protest on Friday into the weekend. By midday Sunday, the military was surrounded by protesters outside the Metropolitan Detention Centre in downtown LA. It was here that many immigrants had been held before being shipped off to detention facilities. The walls and floors are covered in expletive-ridden graffiti, reading f*** ICE. The Los Angeles police soon split the crowd and drove a wedge between the National Guard and the crowd. California Governor Gavin Newsom has called Donald Trump's acts those of a "dictator, not a president". He's formally requested that the Trump administration withdraw the National Guard. The White House say the military will remain there until order is restored. Five hundred marines are still on standby. Los Angeles Police Department police chief Jim McDonnell, asked whether the National Guard was needed, said: "This thing has gotten out of control." He said that although the LAPD would not initially have requested assistance from the National Guard, the disorder had caused him to reevaluate his assessment. Several people were arrested. Sky News witnessed a young woman, who called herself Gabriella, riding her motorbike at speed towards a line of police officers. Read more from Sky News:Analysis: Trump deploys federal force in LATrump claims CA officials 'can't do their jobs' One of the police officers used his arm to push her off the bike. She said she was protesting because her "people were being rounded up." Politicians on both sides of the aisle condemned the violence, but some vehemently disagreed about what actions led to the escalation.
