‘Be like a submarine’

Jamaican students studying in the United States are being urged to “run silent and deep” amid a temporary halt in the revocation of visas for international students as part of the Donald Trump administration’s sweeping changes in immigration enforcement.

“Be like a submarine,” Oliver J. Langstadt, immigration attorney and American Immigration Lawyers member, advised.

“Don’t do any political activism, don’t say anything on social media. Don’t get into criminal problems, and you should be okay.”

Yesterday, the US government reversed the termination of legal status of scores of international students after many filed court action. Federal judges across the country made several rulings for temporary orders restoring the students’ records in a federal database of international students maintained by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The government said it intends to develop a policy that will provide a framework for the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) record termination.

In recent weeks, the visas of hundreds of foreign students were abruptly cancelled through the Department of Homeland Security’s computerised SEVIS – a web-based system for maintaining information on non-immigrant students and exchange visitors in the US. It is also a key tool for the department to collect information on international students for the duration of their study in the country.

VERY SCARED

The revocation of the students’ visas has undoubtedly caused growing unease among all international students, including Jamaicans.

However, Langstadt said while the bulk of the enforcement appears to be targeting Arab and Muslim students, Jamaican nationals studying in the US are not in the “line of fire” but are very scared.

“The ones who they’re going after are clearly the Muslim students or Arab students who have expressed strong support for Palestinian rights, and maybe they have been expressing support for Hamas, so that’s their number one,” he told The Gleaner yesterday.

But the immigration attorney said, “I have had in the last week about a dozen calls [from Jamaican students]. They are scared.”

In one case, he said a Jamaican student feared that his expiring visa might affect his legal status, even though he remained in valid “duration of study” status by transitioning directly from college to grad school.

In another case, a student became worried after a roommate got into a fight – highlighting the growing paranoia about even being near trouble.

However, Langstadt said while the court rulings are encouraging, “it’s not something to feel that you have a security blanket yet.”

The attorney is of the view that the matter requires more litigation. Besides that, he said the Trump administration has not been the most compliant when it comes to court rulings.

Consequently, he said Jamaican students need to confirm their visa status with the institution in writing, be smart and stay off the radar during their tenure.

“Just go to school and be silent,” he said.

VISA A PRIVILEGE, NOT A RIGHT

When asked what students could do if their visa is revoked, Langstadt said, “Unfortunately, a visa is a privilege and not a right, and you have very little remedy.”

While some revocations have been reversed due to clerical errors by schools in the SEVIS system, Langstadt noted that most students have very limited options to appeal.

“If the visa is revoked, it’s a serious issue,” he said. “Remedies are very limited.”

Students charged with – but not convicted of – criminal offences are also being swept up in the immigration crackdown.

“That is serious and troubling,” the attorney said. “Because what if the charges are dropped? Or what if the student takes the matter to court and is found not guilty?”

Equally worrying, he said, is the fact that mere attendance at a political demonstration or participation in a peaceful protest may result in the revocation of a student’s visa, actions protected under the US Constitution’s First Amendment, even for foreign nationals lawfully in the country.

Langstadt believes more lawsuits and pushback are inevitable, as universities are becoming very concerned about the actions of the Trump administration.

“One hundred and fifty universities sent a letter to President Trump, concerned about this,” he said.

Up-to-date figures for 2024 are unavailable, but nearly 1,400 Jamaican students were issued F-1 student visas in 2023. Over the past decade – from 2014 to 2023 – 10,294 Jamaicans were granted student visas, according to US Department of State records.

tanesha.mundle@gleanerjm.com