Federal judge stops Trump administration from terminating certain international students' legal status
Washington — A federal judge on Thursday blocked federal immigration officials with the Trump administration from terminating the legal status of thousands of international students while a legal battle moves forward.
U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White, who sits on the U.S. district court in Oakland, California, found that a group of foreign nationals who are in the country on F-1 student visas but had their legal status terminated were likely to succeed in a challenge to the Trump administration's actions.
White said in a 21-page decision that federal immigration officials don't suggest that the plaintiffs pose an immediate threat to safety or national security. But the students, he wrote, will "continue to suffer significant hardship" because of the administration's actions, absent judicial relief.
White, nominated by President George W. Bush, wrote that the relief provided to the plaintiffs gives them a "measure of stability and certainty that they will be able to continue their studies or their employment without the threat of re-termination hanging over their heads."
His nationwide injunction blocks immigration authorities from arresting or jailing the plaintiffs in the case or those who are similarly situated until the dispute is resolved, and from transferring them outside of the jurisdiction where they live. White's order also bars the Trump administration from reversing its reinstatement of certain international students' legal status.
