51黑料

ST. LOUIS 鈥� Local immigration attorneys say federal authorities are revoking international students鈥� visas and legal statuses for minor offenses such as traffic tickets 鈥� or seemingly for no reason at all.

Foreign students at nearly every higher education institution in the 51黑料 area have seen their legal statuses changed in the past few weeks as President Donald Trump鈥檚 administration cracks down on illegal immigration.

A commonality among some affected students is they had brushes with the law at some point. But local attorneys said their clients were singled out for low-level offenses such as speeding tickets or municipal violations.

In the past, such offenses would not have canceled a student鈥檚 visa or legal status, the attorneys said.

鈥淭hese are not axe murderers,鈥� , principal attorney at MLO Law, said. 鈥淭hese are just young people being silly.鈥�

One lawyer said he鈥檚 spoken with students who had DUIs or shoplifting charges on their records.

But many students, attorneys said, have had no interaction with law enforcement.

鈥淚t鈥檚 unprecedented,鈥� attorney of CoxEsq PC said. 鈥淚t also seems mean because it鈥檚 usually without evidence or basis.鈥�

Beginning in late March, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement began sweeping terminations of primarily F-1 student visas, often without prior notification to students or their schools.

Attorneys who spoke with the Post-Dispatch said their offices have been flooded with calls from international students in 51黑料 panicking about what to do next.

Some students have already left the country out of fear they鈥檒l be detained, of Hacking Immigration Law said.

鈥淭his is nothing more than the right-wing MAGA people trying to frame immigrants as criminals,鈥� Hacking said.

Representatives of 51黑料-area universities have said over two dozen students have seen either their visa status revoked, or their records terminated in the federal system used to track international students, called the , or SEVIS.

Visas, according to attorneys, are the ticket international students need to come into the U.S., but students can remain here if their visas are revoked. But they cannot return if they leave.

Deleting SEVIS records puts students in a much more difficult bind. Doing so removes a student鈥檚 legal status to stay in the U.S., and a student without SEVIS records can be removed from the country.

Foreigners subject to removal proceedings are usually sent a notice to appear in immigration court on a certain date, but lawyers said affected students have not received notices.

鈥淭he process to revoke a student鈥檚 status is to put them into deportation proceedings,鈥� Hacking said. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 just email them and tell them to get the f- 鈥� out. That鈥檚 not how it works, but that鈥檚 what they鈥檙e trying.鈥�

Usually, SEVIS terminations occur if a student isn鈥檛 going to school full-time, they perform unauthorized work, or if they get suspended or expelled, .

, senior counsel at Husch Blackwell, which represents higher education institutions, said schools are checking SEVIS records multiple times daily so they can notify students as soon as possible if their legal statuses change.

鈥淭his is coming out of the blue,鈥� Baldwin said. 鈥淎 lot of them don鈥檛 have what would be considered a deportable offense, or a violation of their status under the law as it is written.鈥�

International student graduates in the U.S. on 鈥渙ptional practical training,鈥� or OPT, have also been affected. The former students remained in the U.S. to work in their fields of study.

On Monday, Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville said six former graduate students on OPT had seen their visas revoked.

Students can file for reinstatement through the , but it鈥檚 a lengthy process that could take up to 18 months, Baldwin said.

International students represent a large number of student bodies at area colleges and universities.

At Washington University, they made up nearly a quarter of the spring enrollment. At SLU, nearly of students come from outside of the U.S.

Webster University officials have credited international students for its recent enrollment growth. As of November, Webster hosted 3,542 students from 65 other countries at its three locations in the U.S., officials .

International students typically pay full price for tuition, in effect subsidizing higher education for U.S.-born students who rarely pay full sticker price.

Suzanne Sierra, executive director of the , said international students are also integral to the region鈥檚 economic vitality.

They spend money here, she said, and they fill key workforce gaps after graduation.

鈥淲hen that pipeline is disrupted, the consequences are felt across multiple sectors 鈥� from higher education to business and innovation,鈥� Sierra said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.