LISTEN: In a change of policy, ICE will restore the student status of international students whose visas were suddenly revoked. GPB's news team reports on the development and hears the voice of one of the students at its heart of the case.

Atlanta immigration attorney Charles Kuck, center, argued on behalf of some 133 international college students who for now have no way to continue their studies. "There's no doubt that this administration wants foreign students outside the United States, especially those from countries it does not be desirable," Kuck said. "What we see as a result is the terror in these students."

Atlanta immigration attorney Charles Kuck (center) argued on behalf of some 133 international college students who, in mid-April, had no way to continue their studies.

Credit: Grant Blankenship / GPB News

This is a developing story.

The federal government is reversing the termination of legal status for international students after many filed court challenges around the U.S.

In an Oakland, Calif., federal court, a lawyer for the government announced that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was manually restoring the student status for students whose records were terminated in recent weeks.

Immigration lawyers noticed seemingly random, manual restorations being made overnight, but the policy change wasn’t confirmed until this morning’s announcement in Oakland.

Charles Kuck, the lead attorney on a lawsuit filed on behalf of 133 students in Atlanta, said this is undeniably a win for his clients.

“This is 100% ICE realizing that they were wrong,” he said. “I can only imagine the conversations with their lawyers saying ‘Why are you making us go to court, say these ridiculous things which don't make any sense and which we're losing every single time?’”

While ICE has changed its policy, Kuck notes that the lawsuit isn’t over yet. He said he’ll seek summary judgement and a final decision in order to “secure a real remedy for our clients.”

He added that he thinks this is the beginning, not the end of difficulties for international students studying in the United States.

 

Students were waiting for relief in federal court

The day before ICE restored status, federal Judge Victoria Calvert in Atlanta heard arguments to restore status to 133 students who said they were not given due process before their visas were revoked while the court case plays out. 

Kuck said his plaintiffs have not committed deportable offenses, but were still in status limbo and needed clarity.

“So for those that are fighting to stay, kudos to them," Kuck said. "This takes a lot of guts to do this."

David Powell, an attorney for the federal government, said in court Thursday that no real harm has been done to the students and asked Calvert to only rule on the 26 Georgia plaintiffs or deny new temporary protections for the students altogether.

Calvert said Thursday she will issue a decision before a temporary order restoring status expires May 1.

 

One student’s academic and athletic career grinds to a halt

Jane Doe  No. 1 is the first of 133 anonymous plaintiffs, all international students from universities across the United States. She told GPB that she came to the U.S. from Colombia during high school, motivated by access to new athletic and academic opportunities.

Doe, who asked that her name stay anonymous given the ongoing lawsuit, said she’s been an athlete in her sport since she was 6 years old. She says she’s always wanted to compete at the highest level. Now, she’s a student athlete at Kennesaw State University, a Division I school in her sport.

“I always wanted to go (Division I)," she said. "That was like my dream, that was the whole reason I moved to the United States. It’s like living the dream right now, and I’m just really proud of the work that I’ve done.”

But on April 1, Doe was notified through Kennesaw State’s International Student and Scholar Services division that her SEVIS registration had been terminated, putting her legal status in limbo.

She was devastated when she found out, only telling her immediate family — her parents and her brother — out of concern over who else would find out.

Doe believes she was targeted by federal officials due to her arrest earlier this year. In the complaint filed in federal court, her lawyers explained she was arrested and charged with domestic violence, but the case was dismissed “because there was no underlying proof of any crime.”

Doe clarified to GPB that a former romantic partner tried to have her charged with drug possession to retaliate following the end of their relationship, but the case was dismissed.

After she discovered her status had been revoked, she contacted immigration lawyer Carlos Solomiany, who referred her to Dustin Baxter, managing partner at Kuck Baxter, the immigration law firm suing Trump administration officials on behalf of the plaintiffs.

She said she felt optimistic about her case.

“I just keep going, being positive, thinking that ‘Well, I’m doing everything in my control to fix the problem,’" she said. "And hopefully the attorneys do it.”

Doe said she thinks the federal officials responsible for the shift in immigration policy are trying to influence people to “self-deport.”

“I think they’re trying to scare people, that’s what it is,” she said. “I think they’re just trying to scare people into leaving.”

Doe said this experience has shaded her perspective of life in the United States.

“I’ve never had a problem like this before, but I don’t know," she said. "It just makes me wonder what, like, what their end game is with all this.”

Tags: Atlanta  Macon  Savannah  Georgia  lawsuit  ICE  immigration policy  international students  visa