Federal judge blocks Trump administration from terminating international students' legal status

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A federal judge on Thursday blocked the Trump administration from terminating the legal status of international students while a court case challenging previous terminations is pending amid a crackdown on illegal behavior on college campuses.

California U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White barred the government from arresting or incarcerating the plaintiffs and similar students and from transferring any of them outside the jurisdiction of their residence.

His order also prohibits the administration from imposing any adverse legal effect on students and from reversing the reinstatement of the legal status until the case is resolved. 

However, students can still be arrested for committing violent crimes.

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The government's actions "wreaked havoc not only on the lives of Plaintiffs here but on similarly situated F-1 nonimmigrants across the United States and continue to do so," said White. 

More than 4,700 international students had their permission to study in the U.S. canceled this spring as the Trump administration cracked down on foreign nationals protesting on American university campuses. 

Department of Homeland Security officials said they ran the names of student visa holders through an FBI-run database that contains the names of suspects and people who have been arrested, even if the charges were dropped or they were never charged with a crime.

Some students have left the U.S. rather than risk arrest or deportation. 

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The government contends it was exercising its ability to enforce the Immigration and Nationality Act. DHS officials said the students don't need the court's protection because U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has reinstated legal status and was mailing status reactivation letters to affected students.

However, White said the erroneous revocations remained on the students' record, impacting their ability to obtain a new visa or change their nonimmigrant status. 

Trump has targeted college students and universities amid a crackdown on antisemitism and other illegal behavior.  

On Thursday, the Department of Homeland Security said it was eliminating the student visa program at Harvard University due to "pro-terrorist conduct" at campus protests. The Ivy League school has failed to comply with its requests for the behavioral records of student visa holders, DHS said. 

"This administration is holding Harvard accountable for fostering violence, antisemitism, and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party on its campus," said DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. "It is a privilege, not a right, for universities to enroll foreign students and benefit from their higher tuition payments to help pad their multibillion-dollar endowments."

"Harvard had plenty of opportunity to do the right thing. It refused," she added. "They have lost their Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification as a result of their failure to adhere to the law. Let this serve as a warning to all universities and academic institutions across the country."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.