A U.S. district judge in California blocked the Trump administration on Thursday from revoking the legal status of international students.
District Judge Jeffrey White blocked the government until the case is resolved from arresting, imprisoning, or transporting foreign students anywhere else, with exceptions made for those who have been convicted of a violent crime carrying a prison sentence of a year or more.
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The nationwide injunction was enacted after lawyers for nearly two dozen students sued following Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s termination of their legal status, and the legal status of thousands of other foreign students, in April amid President Donald Trump’s deportation effort.
Lawyers with the U.S. government have contended that such legal protections are unneeded, citing the reinstatement of the visas, but White countered that the rescindments, still in the students’ records, hindered their ability to change or receive a new visa and “wreaked havoc” on the lives of those using such visas.
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The Department of Homeland Security had canceled the visas of students after running the names of suspects who were arrested on charges of their involvement in pro-Palestinian rallies. These students may have had the charges dropped or were never charged, though the Trump administration argues it was executing its authority under the Immigration and Nationality Act.
The news comes as the Trump administration blocked Harvard University from admitting international students on Thursday. International students attending the school must transfer to other universities to maintain their nonimmigrant status.
Robert Blankenship contributed to this story.