Prime Highlights
- ICE’s new policy for international students, which utilizes criminal databases, has resulted in widespread legal ambiguity and numerous lawsuits.
- About 6,400 international students were marked, resulting in revocation of their visa statuses and igniting a court fight.
Key Facts
- ICE marked 6,400 international students based on data from the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database.
- Legal actions have led to the temporary reinstatement of status of affected students, and more refined criteria are presently being crafted.
Key Background
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) launched the “Student Criminal Alien Initiative” aimed at foreign students with F-1 visas early in 2025. The records of such students were checked against the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database, a criminal record database. Approximately 6,400 international students were targeted under this initiative, many for violating minor offenses like dropped charges or traffic citations. These students were abruptly having their Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) records revoked, threatening deportation and interruption of studies.
The application of this policy created enormous controversy over due process and transparency. Students were usually left in the dark, and little or no advance notice was given of the status changes. The accelerated pace of the terminations, sometimes done within a 24-hour cycle, did not provide students much time to react or seek legal advice. Legal and advocacy circles condemned the mass nature of the policy, stating that it targeted people indiscriminately without assessing their individual circumstances.
In reaction to the growing number of suits—more than 100 in total—the U.S. government briefly reinstated the legal statuses of the affected students. The Department of Homeland Security also committed to making future termination procedures for international students more transparent. U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes criticized the lack of due process and insisted that a settlement ensure that students would not be unfairly deported. This issue has generated significant concern among American schools, and student activist groups and universities are demanding greater openness and equity in international students’ policies.
