The Trump administration abruptly moved to restore the ability of thousands of international students to study in the United States legally on Friday. Immigration officials insisted they would still try to remove students despite legal challenges.
The decision to restore the legal status came during a court hearing in Washington. This was a dramatic shift by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, though the administration called it a temporary reprieve.
The changes came amid lawsuits filed by students who were notified that their legal right to study in the U.S. was rescinded. Some students had minor traffic violations, while others had no obvious cause for the revocations.
Upon learning that their records had been deleted from the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), students sued to preserve their status. Judges issued emergency orders blocking the changes by ICE.
In March, the Trump administration moved to cancel visas and begin deportation proceedings against students who protested against Israel. Federal judges halted some revocations and efforts to remove those students from the country.