More than 1.000 foreign students in the United States have had their visas or legal status revoked in recent weeks.
Several students have filed lawsuits against the Trump administration, claiming the government denied them due process when it suddenly revoked their permission to reside and study in the US.
The US federal government's actions to revoke the legal status of students have put hundreds of academics at risk of detention and deportation. In lawsuits against the Department of Homeland Security, the students argue that the government had no justification to revoke their visas or their legal status.
Visas can be revoked for a number of reasons, but colleges say some students are being singled out for minor offenses, such as traffic violations, that were committed long ago. In some cases, students say it's not even clear why they're being targeted.
In the case of the detention of Columbia University activist Mahmoud Khalil in New York, the Trump administration argued that those who participated in pro-Palestinian demonstrations should also be allowed to be deported.
Entry visas are administered by the State Department. Once in the United States, the legal status of foreign students is overseen by the Department of Homeland Security.
Previously, students whose visas were revoked were allowed to maintain their legal resident status and complete their studies. The lack of a valid entry visa only limited their ability to leave the United States and return, but they could reapply to the State Department.
But if a student loses their legal residency status, they risk being detained by immigration authorities. Some students have already left the country, abandoning their studies to avoid arrest. Higher education officials worry that the arrests and visa revocations could discourage foreign students from continuing their studies in the United States.
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