Visa Crackdown on International Students Raises Legal and Ethical Concerns

The US government has expanded the reasons for revoking international students' legal status, increasing deportation fears. New guidelines target students for minor infractions, causing court challenges. The policy includes using criminal databases to revoke visas, raising concerns over due process and fairness in immigration practices.

The US federal government is broadening its criteria for stripping international students of their legal status, intensifying fears of deportation under the policy direction of the Trump administration. This development comes amid a wave of scrutiny and legal challenges across the nation.

Attorneys defending international pupils argue that these novel criteria facilitate rapid deportations and validate controversial government actions earlier this year aimed at cancelling foreign students' study permits. Recent weeks have seen students abruptly lose their legal status, prompting them to take their grievances to federal courts. Judges have frequently ruled that the government's actions lacked due process.

With new guidelines soon expected to redefine the grounds for cancelling student visas, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) documents now include the revocation of entry visas as valid reasons. Critics claim this broadening of power was not previously highlighted in visa revocation policies, sparking fresh concerns over the implications for international students in the US.

(With inputs from agencies.)