UCF International students relieved by reversed ICE policy

By Greg Fox - Reporter | WESH Orlando
Posted April 25, 2025

 

ORLANDO, Fla. — The U.S. State Department and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Friday reversed a policy that in the past month led to the termination of student visas and raised fears of incarceration and deportation.

Dozens of University of Central Florida international students attended a private meeting Friday afternoon to be briefed on the current situation and receive advice on how to handle the coming weeks and months.

UCF Global and a counselor led the meeting, discussing the students’ rights to remain in the country.

The meeting followed stressful weeks after Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced plans to cancel F-1 and J-1 visas or terminate their records in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, or SEVIS.

Those plans prompted protests across the country and in Florida, where some of the nearly 2,000 international students at more than 240 colleges and universities saw their legal status changed by the State Department.

UCF students were told days earlier that 15 students had their visas canceled since March 25, but students leaving the campus meeting learned about half of those had been reinstated and that ICE was walking back its plans.

“It feels nice having the support,” a female student from Costa Rica said, declining to be identified.

She said the meeting explained how foreign students should conduct themselves, obeying laws, including traffic laws, and following all campus rules and regulations.

She added, “There’s hope that this might be something temporary and things can get better.”

WESH 2 News spoke with an immigration attorney who has been working with some UCF international students during the recent weeks. He said the reversal by ICE was expected because of the numerous lawsuits filed.

Nayef Mubarak added, “I think these losses were really piling up and it begs the question, was this really worth it, especially when many of these revocations were not supported with any reason and without notice for all of these students.”

Democratic Orlando Congressman Maxwell Frost said the only explanation for the original move by ICE to drive foreign students off campuses is their opposition to Trump administration policies.

“The students who have been protesting on a variety of issues, whether it’s anti-war protests or against the administration, which shows that the administration has been revoking people’s legal status due to their speech,” Frost said.

UCF students whose legal status has changed are being advised to contact UCF Global immediately, schedule an international advisor appointment and avoid sudden travel or withdrawal decisions.

They should consult a designated school official, and if an I-20 SEVIS or visa is terminated, they must leave the U.S. There is no grace period.

 

Source: WESH Orlando