President Donald Trump is revealing how his administration decided which international students got to stay and who had to be deported. At a court hearing in Washington D.C. about the recent targeting of many international students across the country, the department said it used 10 to 20 employees to run the names of 1.3 million foreign-born students through the National Crime Information Center, an FBI-run computerized index that includes criminal history information.
The process populated the 6,400 “hits.” And from there, many students experienced terminations of their records in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), which maintains information about nonimmigrant students and exchange visitors.
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Executive Order 14159 tightens immigration controls, expediting deportations, penalizing undocumented immigrants, and increasing ICE enforcement. These measures create uncertainty for international students, who are now avoiding political activities to minimize the risk of deportation. Critics, including civil rights organizations, argue these policies violate constitutional rights, particularly regarding free speech and due process, raising concerns about how foreign students are treated in the U.S.
In the hearing, the federal government reportedly detailed its initiative to screen foreign students entitled the “Student Criminal Alien Initiative.” Andre Watson, assistant director of DHS said that the employees served in “various roles as analysts” and that the entire process, overseen by DHS acting Executive Director Robert Hammer, took two to three weeks.
With heightened scrutiny on visas and public activities, students may avoid political demonstrations to reduce deportation risks. Civil rights organizations warn that these policies could infringe on constitutional rights.
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“Using tech to achieve immigration enforcement goals seems like a bad science fiction movie, but it’s the situation we are living in now,” Jath Shao, a Cleveland-based immigration attorney who represents several students dealing with these terminations.
The lawsuit against the Trump administration over deporting international students could have big consequences. Civil rights groups, like the ACLU, are challenging the revocation of student visas, saying it violates their rights. A judge has temporarily stopped deportations, and the case might affect other students in similar situations. This legal action highlights growing opposition to the administration’s immigration policies. If the lawsuit succeeds, it could lead to changes in how these policies are enforced and influence future immigration laws.