AAPI groups react after Trump student visa revocations reversed

(This story is done in partnership with the URL Collective)

By Randall Yip, Executive Editor

Asian American and immigration groups are reacting with caution to an announcement from the Trump administration that it is reversing its decision to revoked about 1,400 student visas and to change the immigration status of 4,700 more in a government data base known as SEVIS.

The action caused a lot of uncertainty and fear among international students.

“We continue to be deeply concerned about the lack of transparency and the chilling effect this has had on international scholars. Restoring these records is only the beginning. The government must ensure that any future actions are grounded in due process and uphold our country’s commitment to the rule of law, freedom, and fairness,” said Gisela Perez Kusakawa, Executive Director of Asian American Scholar Forum in a statement sent to AsAmNews.

According to a survey by the American Immigration Lawyers Association, nearly half of international students impacted were from India- with a significant number from China and other Asian countries including South Korea, Nepal and Bangladesh.

Asian Americans Advancing Justice, AAJC said the earlier action by the White House only served to impede America’s desire to attract top talent from around the world.

“Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC welcomes this policy reversal,” said Joanna YangQing Derman, Director of Anti-profiling and National Security in an email to AsAmNews.  “However, the administration’s prior decision to strip hundreds of international students of their legal status without cause inflicted lasting harm. Targeting students without explanation or due process not only upended lives—it sent a chilling message about the future of American innovation.”

Some students who saw their status change without warning self-deported and already left the country. According to USA Today, more than 200 students removed from SEVIS won court orders preventing the government from taking any action against them.

“The agency vexatiously overstepped when it revoked student records in SEVIS without, what appears to be, going through the proper vetting channels,” said a statement from the American Immigration Lawyers Association. “Across the country and the world, students, universities, and attorneys are breathing a collective sigh of relief today and at least for now. It’s a sad reality that this administration’s chaotic policies are the new normal. As we move forward, it is crucial to continue to address and rectify these harms and other similar threats to ensure that such overreach does not happen again.”

The BBC reports the Justice Department is now reviewing its procedures and expects to come up with a new system to examine and terminate student visas.