Trump administration forced to reveal its ham-handed operation to terminate immigration records of thousands of students
CNN
The Trump administration was forced to reveal new information Tuesday about its ham-handed and legally dubious operation to cancel the immigration records of thousands of international students that a federal judge described as a blatant due process violation that “concerned” and “troubled” her.
The Trump administration was forced to reveal new information Tuesday about its ham-handed and legally dubious operation to cancel the immigration records of thousands of international students that a federal judge described as a blatant due process violation that “concerned” and “troubled” her. A Department of Homeland Security official who was deeply involved in the maneuver said in court that the administration had relied on the National Crime Information Center, a registry recording individuals’ interactions with law enforcement. The approach meant that international students who had very minor run-ins with the law – including driving citations, misdemeanor charges that were ultimately dismissed, and arrests that never resulted in charges – were put in a legal limbo that prompted at least 100 of them to sue in recent weeks. A team of 10 to 20 people were tasked with running the names of the 1.3 million international students through the database, Andre Watson, a senior official within the DHS’ National Security Division for the Homeland Security Investigations, told Judge Ana Reyes. The only individualized review was then to verify the name in the law enforcement database was the same person as the name in a portal known as “SEVIS,” which schools use to ensure their international students are meeting the requirements of their educational visas. Judge Reyes’ demands that Watson appear in person to answer her questions at Tuesday proceedings came after previous hearings where she and other judges across the country were stonewalled by Justice Department attorneys. One attorney told multiple judges in Washington, DC, last week that ICE was refusing to provide the information that would allow him to answer basic questions about what the administration was doing. Even after the administration announced Friday that it was backtracking on the effort and reinstating the records for all the students caught up in the law enforcement database sweep, Reyes and other judges moved forward with their plans to scrutinize what had driven the terminations.
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