Category: DHS

  • US to expand powers to terminate students’ legal status

    US to expand powers to terminate students’ legal status

    The expansion of government powers would hand Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) the authority to cancel a student’s legal status if the visa they used to enter the US is revoked.  

    Previously, a visa revocation would only impact a person’s ability to return to the country but would not end their permission to stay in the US as a student. 

    The new guidelines were outlined in an ICE document shared in a court filing on April 28, according to Associated Press. 

    Attorneys for international students said in court the new reasons would allow for faster deportations and would justify many of the Trump administration’s terminations of thousands of students’ legal status on the database maintained by ICE.  

    “This just gave them carte blanche to have the State Department revoke a visa and then deport those students, even if they’ve done nothing wrong,” said immigration attorney Brad Banias, as reported in AP.  

    When approached for comment, a State Department spokesperson said it “will continue to work closely with the Department of Homeland Security to enforce zero tolerance for aliens in the United States who violate US laws, threaten public safety, or in other situations where warranted”.

    The PIE is yet to hear back from ICE.

    This just gave them carte blanche to have the State Department revoke a visa and then deport those students, even if they’ve done nothing wrong

    Brad Banias, immigration attorney

    Sector leaders welcomed last week’s news that the government was restoring students’ legal status while it developed a new framework for future terminations, though the proposed vastly expanded new powers come as another blow for international students and educators.  

    The court heard that the new policy went against “at least 15 years of SEVP guidance”, referring to the Student and Exchange Visitor Program managed by ICE. 

    However, NAFSA emphasised on May 2 that “the document cannot yet be regarded as ICE’s new official policy”.

    The document offers two new reasons for termination; non-compliance with the terms of nonimmigrant status and visa revocation by the state department.

    In the case of the former, it is not clear whether a SEVIS record termination would also result in the termination of nonimmigrant status, though it would strip students of status benefits including applying for OPT or returning to the US after travelling abroad.

    According to immigration attorneys, the new guidance could also allow for revoking student status if their names appear in a criminal database regardless of whether they were ever charged with a crime.    

    Traditionally, student visa revocations have not been common, but recently the US government began terminating students’ status either in addition to or instead of revoking their visas.   

    The Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) database is maintained by ICE to monitor international students’ presence in the US.  

    In the absence of disaggregated counts of visa revocation and SEVIS record termination, it remains unclear how many students will lose their status because of the new termination framework.  

    Since mid-March, sudden visa revocations by the State Department and SEVIS record terminations by ICE and DHS have caused widespread fear and uncertainty across US campuses.  

    “Exacerbating the stress was the rationale provided by the government, which ranged from wholly absent, to conflicting, to shifting, to downright baseless,” said NAFSA.  

    In March, secretary of state Marco Rubio said that his department was revoking the visas of students who took part in pro-Palestinian protests and those with criminal charges.   

    However, many students who saw their status terminated said they did not fall under those categories and argued that they were denied due process. Others said they were not aware their status had been revoked until logging onto the SEVIS database.  

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  • Govt. data error sparks doubt over US international enrolments

    Govt. data error sparks doubt over US international enrolments

    The reliability of federal datasets is under scrutiny after an error was identified on the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) website that appeared to show stagnating international student numbers from August 2024 to the present.  

    The error, brought to The PIE News’s attention by EnglishUSA, casts doubt on recent headlines and media reports about declining international student enrolments in the US, with SEVIS data appearing to show an enrolment decline of 11% between March 2024 and March 2025.  

    “Starting in August 2024, the data appears to be duplicated month after month, with flatlined totals for students on F and M visas. These figures show virtually no fluctuation during a period when natural enrolment shifts would be expected,” explained EnglishUSA executive director, Cheryl Delk-Le Good.  

    “This irregularity comes at a time of heightened concern within the field, particularly as educators and administrators manage the fallout from widespread SEVIS terminations and the resulting confusion around visa status for international students,” added Delk-Le Good.  

    The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which runs SEVIS, was alerted to the error on April 14 and said it was “working to resolve the issue”.  

    As of April 25, the dataset has not been updated, and DHS has not responded to The PIE’s request for comment.  

    US International Trade Administration. Market Diversification Tool for International Education. 2023. Retrieved: April 11, 2025.

    Notably, the inaccuracies begin in August 2024 and span both US administrations, suggesting “a computer glitch rather than an intentional act,” said Mark Algren – interim director of the Applied English Center at the University of Kansas and a contributor to EnglishUSA’s data initiatives – who noticed the anomaly.  

    However, Algren added that he had “no idea why someone didn’t catch it,” with the considerable timeframe of the glitch likely to hamper confidence in federal datasets that are relied on by institutions and that ensure transparency in the system.  

    Total F&M visa holders in the US: 

    Month  Total F&M  Change from previous month 
    August 24   1,091,134  -59,822 
    September 24   1,091,137  +3 
    October 24  1,091,141  +4 
    November 24  1,091,144  +3 
    January 25  1,091,142  -2 
    February 25  1,091,155  +13 
    March 25  1,091,161  +11 
    Source: SEVIS

    It is important to note that each monthly dataset recorded by SEVIS is a snapshot of a given day that month, and the drop recorded in August 2024 (which is considered the last accurate figure) could have been taken before many students arrived for the fall academic term.  

    For this reason, “it’s hard to say that an August report is representative of the following fall term,” said Algren, with the true figures yet to be seen.  

    At the start of the 2024/25 academic year, IIE’s fall snapshot reported a 3% rise in international student enrolment, building on sustained growth over the last three years. 

    Despite recent uncertainty in the US caused by the current administration’s recent attacks on higher education, the period of SEVIS’ misreporting represents an earlier timeframe before the impact of Trump’s policies came into effect.  

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  • DHS Announces Proposed Pilot Program for Non-E-Verify Employers to Use Remote I-9 Document Examination – CUPA-HR

    DHS Announces Proposed Pilot Program for Non-E-Verify Employers to Use Remote I-9 Document Examination – CUPA-HR

    by CUPA-HR | August 9, 2023

    On August 3, 2023, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a notice in the Federal Register seeking comments on a potential pilot program to allow employers not enrolled in E-Verify to harness remote examination procedures for the Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification.

    Background

    DHS’s recent actions are built upon a series of moves aimed at modernizing and making more flexible the employment verification process. On July 25, 2023, the DHS rolled out a final rule enabling the Secretary of Homeland Security to authorize optional alternative examination practices for employers when inspecting an individual’s identity and employment authorization documents, as mandated by the Form I-9. The rule creates a framework under which DHS may implement permanent flexibilities under specified conditions, start pilot procedures with respect to the examination of documents, or react to crises similar to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Alongside the final rule, DHS published a notice in the Federal Register authorizing a remote document examination procedure for employers who are participants in good standing in E-Verify and announced it would be disclosing details in the near future about a pilot program to a broader category of businesses.

    Key Highlights of the Proposed Non-E-Verify Remote Document Examination Pilot 

    DHS’s proposal primarily revolves around the following points:

    • Purpose: Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) intends to gauge the security impact of remote verification compared to traditional in-person examination of the Form I99. This involves evaluating potential consequences like error rates, fraud and discriminatory practices.
    • Pilot Procedure: The new pilot program would mirror the already authorized alternative method for E-Verify employers, including aspects such as remote document inspection, document retention and anti-discrimination measures.
    • Eligibility: The pilot program is open to most employers unless they have more than 500 employees. However, E-Verify employers are excluded since DHS has already greenlit an alternative for them.
    • Application Process: Interested employers must fill out the draft application form, which DHS has made available online. This form captures details like company information, terms of participation, participant obligations, and more.
    • Information Collection: Employers wishing to join the pilot would be required to complete the formal application linked above. ICE would periodically seek data from these employers, such as the number of new hires or how many employees asked for a physical inspection.
    • Documentation: Participating companies must electronically store clear copies of all supporting documents provided by individuals for the Form I-9. They might also be required to undertake mandatory trainings for detecting fraudulent documents and preventing discrimination.
    • Onsite/Hybrid Employees: Companies might face restrictions or a set timeframe for onsite or hybrid employees, dictating when they must physically check the Form I-9 after the initial remote assessment.
    • Audits and Investigations: All employers, including pilot participants, are liable for audits and evaluations. DHS plans to contrast data from these assessments to discern any systemic differences between the new method and the traditional one.

    What’s Next: Seeking Public Comments by October 2 

    DHS is actively seeking feedback from the public regarding the proposed pilot and the draft application form. The department encourages stakeholders to consider and provide insights on the following points:

    • Practical Utility: Assess if the proposed information requirement is vital for the agency’s proper functioning and whether the data collected will be practically useful.
    • Accuracy and Validity: Analyze the agency’s estimation of the information collection’s burden, ensuring the methods and assumptions are valid.
    • Enhance Information Quality: Offer suggestions to improve the clarity, utility and overall quality of the data collected.
    • Minimize Collection Burden: Propose ways to ease the data collection process for respondents, exploring technological solutions such as electronic submissions.

    In light of this, CUPA-HR plans to carefully evaluate the notice and associated application. Based on its review, CUPA-HR is considering submitting comments to provide valuable insights to DHS. CUPA-HR will keep members apprised of any updates regarding this proposed pilot program and other changes to Form I-9 alternative examination procedures.



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