The Trump administration abruptly terminated the SEVIS records of thousands of foreign students earlier this month on the basis of minor or unclear law enforcement encounters flagged in an FBI database. Over 100 lawsuits and 50 restraining orders quickly followed across 23 states. Judges appointed by both Republican and Democrat Presidents slammed the administration’s action as illegal even given its broad latitude in immigration enforcement. The Trump administration reversed course on Friday and restored these student visas.
One of the students who was at risk of deportation, and sued with the assistance of the ACLU, had come to the administration’s attention because of a run-in with Frontier Airlines over a carry-on bag fee.
Elika Shams lost her student visa because of derogatory information in a background check and she believes it was her New Year’s Eve flight.
The Iranian biomedical engineering student was flying Frontier Airlines on New Year’s Eve. She was connecting in Boston and barely made it to her gate prior to departure. When she arrived, she was told that it would cost her $100 to bring her carry-on on board. She argued, but the gate agent shut the boarding door.
- She admits trying to open the door to the jet bridge.
- And then offered to pay the fee
- The flight left without her, and she was reported to TSA – and they issued a warning.
On April 10th she received an email from the University of Connecticut that her F-1 status had been terminated. A TSA “Warning Notice” is a civil administrative action under 49 C.F.R. § 1540. It is not an arrest or conviction, and by itself does not make an F-1 holder deportable (§237) nor inadmissible (§212).
- TSA’s first-violation grid lets officers issue a “Warning Notice” in lieu of a civil penalty for minor infractions. The notice closes the case unless the recipient re-offends.
- The event may be logged in internal DHS systems (SEACATS/TECS) but it is not a criminal record and is not automatically shared with SEVIS.
Deportation under 8 U.S.C. § 1227 would result from a conviction, admission, or status violation. However visa revocation under §221(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act merely requires a finding or credible evidence of ineligibility, or an IDENT watch-list match (which could commonly be triggered by something like a DUI).
A TSA warning alone should be insufficient for visa revocation. The Foreign Affairs Manual bars revocation merely on the basis of derogatory information unless actual inadmissibility can be shown.
You do not have the authority to revoke a visa based on a suspected ineligibility or based on derogatory information that is insufficient to support an ineligibility finding, other than a revocation based on driving under the influence (DUI). …Under no circumstances should you revoke a visa when the individual is in the United States, or after the individual has commenced an uninterrupted journey to the United States, other than a revocation based on driving under the influence (DUI).
However, the Department’s Visa Office of Screening, Analysis, and Coordination (CA/VO/SAC) can revoke a visa (‘prudential revocation’) on a basis of derogatory information “directly from another U.S. Government agency, including a member of the intelligence or law enforcement community” as a matter of discretion.
Historically, this has been triggered by arrests or terrorism intel, not a first-time TSA warning – unless the student was tagged as a potential threat – or if they otherwise failed to maintain the F-1 requirements. For instance, if they missed classes because they missed their flight and this was reported by the school they could have their status terminated.
The Trump administration’s reversal on termination of student visas notwithstanding, if you’re in the U.S. on a visa, if you’re Iranian, and if the current President is still in office it seems like a very bad idea to take any action that might tend to involve law enforcement – fair or not.
Hear me out, maybe, just maybe, we should stop the brinksmanship. Like, as a society, we should not continue this unnecessary escalation, because, if one ‘team’ is willing to abuse power, law, money, freedom, liberty, etc., then, when the the other side is in charge, they may do the same. Perhaps, we could start treating each other like human beings, again, because we all deserve dignity. Or, not. Whatever.
I’m sorry but why is the United States educating Iranian & Communist Chinese students?
We have plenty of our own people that aspire to higher education.
And no I am not Republican & I did graduate from an Ivy League.
I’m sure the Iranian airport authorities would have been thoroughly amused by her airport antics.
These people have the balls to come here and cause trouble but wouldn’t dare in their third world homelands.
Let her finish her PHD in Tehran.
As a guest in a country, be very careful of what you do or say, even if you feel you should fight back. Keep your head down. This also sometimes applies to jobs. I kept my head down at my job. I was able to get my pension because of that.
@JohnMCSymthe, @CHRIS, @jns — Fellas, the answer is not to treat people like they do in Iran. No way. We, in the USA, should not emulate a theocratic dictatorship.
How’s this instead:
“We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”
It’s probably a better idea. Maybe. I donno. You do you, right?
She’s a guest in our country…period. She was flying on Frontier..what do you expect. They don’t care if your flight was connecting or not. Late to the gate…flight closed out. SHE TRIED TO FORCE HERSELF ON THE JET! End of discussion. Adding to what was said above, as a guest in this country, watch what you say or do. For US citizens, the same applies when we leave our country. Once we step off of US soil or a US flag carrier, our constitutional rights STOP and one is now subject to that country’s rules.Take politics out of this but it is high time that the United States starts following the LAWS that have been enacted. If you don’t like the laws then elect representatives who will change the laws. That’s the way it works around here.
Lawfare used to be a dead horse beat by the Tr*mpublicans, but as with so many things, their accusations are often a confession of their own ways and desires.
Lawfare against foreign students is the order of the day from this regime desperate to run up deportation numbers whether they are deportations or not.
@Win Whitmire — Great point! Follow the law. Like, when you drive, if you go a mile over the speed limit, you’re an illegal, too!
@Win Whitmire — Oh, I got another law that we all need to follow: taxes, like down to the penny, and keeping all receipts and documents for at least 7 years, and why not forever, for them audits!
@GUWonder — Yup, this is the weaponization of law and enforcement against specific vulnerable groups and perceived enemies, ‘out groups,’ designed to create a culture of fear, self-censorship.
@1990 You quote the Constitution but America is a lawless state that overthrew the previous government. I’m not talking about the British. I am talking about the original USA under the Articles of Confederation.
The Articles of Confederation required ALL states to agree. Instead, the Constitution took over before ALL states ratified it. Overthrow of the previous government! Shows how lawless America is.
Eventually, the last 2 states ratified it because the new government had already forced itself in so they may have done it under duress. George Washington was NOT the first President. That is false propaganda. There were several Presidents under the Articles of Confederation, which were whitewashed. True, the legal duties were different but they still had the title of “president”.
Do NOT change Wikipedia about this or they will likely ban you because of censorship.
@johnmcsmythe I agree. There are many more US citizens that want to go to our top schools than get it. Why give away places to foreigners, especially at state schools? Iran and China are our enemies according to our fearless leaders but we allow them to go to school here. Crazy.
@JohnMCSymthe: We hope that one of two things happen: 1) They stay here, depriving their home country of intelligent people. 2): They go home with the experience of western values and become a force for change in their home country.
Also remember that, like we’re about to be, Iran is a dictatorship. So while we don’t like the government of Iran, the people of Iran don’t like the government of Iran either. They’ve just, like we’re about to, lost the ability to do anything about it.
When you write an article that includes the fact that she ADMITS that she tried to barge onto the plane. It’s game over. Trump this or Trump that doesn’t apply. She would be in jail or worse in many other countries. Wasn’t there a whole TV show called LOCKED UP ABROAD.
Lawless?! Bah! “That’s the funniest.. thing I’ve ever heard. You’re a real card, (@derek). I love a good roast!” (Mr. Allan from Liar Liar).
Our university system should be for Americans only.
Not foreign nationals from hostile nations.
@Walter Barry — Nah, what makes them ‘world-class’ universities is that they actually welcome the best in the world. Apparently, you didn’t make the cut. Bah!
@1990 Well said.
@WalterBarry and @JohnMCSymthe The thing is, though, universities have been seeing a drop in enrollment since 2010, and a further drop since 2020. No, apparently we don’t have plenty of our own people to aspire for higher education (or at least that can afford it.) The affordability of a college education is a problem, but those coming in from overseas are paying full price for their education. This isn’t a supply and demand issue where lowering demand (by making foreign students unwelcome) increases supply for locals and lowers prices. Quite the contrary, having fewer people enter a college means higher per-student costs or closing off majors and reducing staffing in line with enrollment or both. (Or, increased subsidies either direct to colleges or to students as a grant or scolarship or whatever. Needless to say I don’t see the current administration doing this.)
@jns: Great advice that you gave. I completely agreed with you.
Keeping your head down and not causing trouble is sound advice whenever you’re in a foreign country, but as Win Whitmire says this cuts both ways.
People are quick to condemn this woman for panicking in a stressful situation, but when Americans get arrested and thrown in jail in a foreign country for having ammunition in their luggage (something which is a SERIOUS OFFENCE and CLEARLY ILLEGAL there), those same people complain that the other country is overreacting. Sorry, you can’t have it both ways.
Incidentally, on my last flight from the US to Auckland I saw an old white man wearing a MAGA hat and thought to myself, “Sir, you are going to have a Very Bad Time on this trip. You will probably come back complaining about how rude and inhospitable people are in New Zealand and won’t even realize why.” These days, wearing a MAGA hat in another country is like waving an Al-Qaeda flag around New York – it may not be illegal, but it ain’t gonna win you any friends either.
Whatever your political beliefs, leave that stuff at home – MAGA hats, Bernie shirts, all of it. The rest of the world dislikes Americans as it is, and giving them an excuse to dislike you even more won’t end well.
Why wasn’t she arrested for trying to open the door to the jet bridge. That isn’t a minor infraction especially when she is a citizen of a state supporter of international terrorism. Americans have been arrested for making a bad joke to a flight attendant.
This may sound harsh, but I think everyone involved in this story, and probably every one who flies or works for a ULCC, should be deported.
@Arcanum — Good advice. While some above feel they have a monopoly on ‘common’ sense, you shared ‘better’ sense. You are absolutely right, if anything remotely similar happened to any of the yahoos above, they’d feel quite differently. Some of us are still capable of empathy, you know, putting ourselves in others shoes, and seeking a better system and outcome overall. Thank you.
Your headline tells a false narrative. It’s even admitted in story where it states that “she thinks”. I stopped reading after that.
First and foremost TSA doesn’t get involved with spats at the gate. That’s airport police, particularly at a large airport like BOS. Trying to open a secured boarding door is a huge security breach and will get you banned from the airline and trespassed from the airport.
This woman is an idiot. When you’re in a country on a visa getting involved with law enforcement will never turn out good. She deserves to be deported.
This administration is EVIL. PERIOD!
This article is legal advice – plain and simple. Is the author a lawyer with immigration litigation experience? If so, this should be included well as a statement that this is not advice. The article goes from discussing a situation to making declarative interpretations of federal statutes (with no reference to case law). The article could come up in a Google search by some unfortunate student who needs the advice and the author will have harmed them for failure to prevent reliance. I especially love the part where the FAM is mentioned in passing as if its application to domestic DHS immigration law is binding. Bro – it’s a manual largely for … Get this ..foreign affairs.
Iranian national tries to breach a locked security door at a US airport
Let her do that in Tehran
Send her home
If she’s willing to force open the door to board do you trust her to follow instructions in the event of an onboard emergency? What else does she feel entitled to that puts others at risk?
Anecdote – in university an Iranian graduate student was late to lab and the lab assistant chastised her. A few weeks later the lab assistant was late. Remember those old style doors with the bar you pushed down to open them? She held the bar and would not allow him into the lab because he was late. After about 10 minutes he gave up and left. The rest of us left because we were unable to do the experiment without him.
@George N Romey — Sounds like a determination that a judge should make, not you or I, or some random ICE agent. Due process matters, for all of us, including visitors to our country.
@Michael Lissack — Yeah, no one condones breaking rules or laws, including breaching security doors, etc. This is less about particulars of this incident, and more about the knee-jerk reaction of folks such as yourself (and apparently many others above) who seek to ‘burn the witch’ instead of allowing for order and due process. Like, at the very least, let’s take a page from Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and at least bring out the duck and the scale first. And, fine, if she is indeed a witch, then burn her. Just saying, we’re skipping some steps here. Yeesh. Bah!
@1990 A random ICE agent doesn’t actually arrange for a deportation. It goes up the chain. Again, when you are a guest of another country it’s only common sense and decency to abide by the rules of that country. Don’t like it? Don’t visit/go. This person can go back to Iran with it’s very generous attitudes towards women and gays, not to mention protesting.
@George N Romey — Oh, I forgot, common sense is just whatever you say, and we should all ignore reality, and just believe you. Or, we can get practical here, for a moment, and review the facts. A random agent does actually have immense discretionary power when the rules don’t actually matter anymore.
A great example would be for you to read-up on Andry José Hernandez, a Venezuelan gay makeup artist, not a gang member, who applied for asylum here (in the USA) and was legally following that process, which allows him to remain, until a determination is made. If you don’t like that system, then let’s get Congress to actually reform immigration laws in our country. Haven’t done that since Reagan in the 1980s.
So, Hernandez, like many others apparently, was wrongly renditioned to El Salvador, on a whim, without due process, in part due to the word of a disgraced former Milwaukee cop with credibility issues. Just one more example of how haphazard, careless, and cruel this is all becoming, just because the mad-king needs to make good on his promise to mass-deport brown folks. It’s vile.
They didn’t revoke her F1 visa, they only terminated her SEVIS. Her F1 visa remains valid all the time.
Visa and SEVIS are 2 different things. You mixed them up. Someone can have a SEVIS terminated but still holds a valid F1 visa.
@Creditian — While I do appreciate your understanding of that nuance, I doubt anyone here particularly cares. Many seem to just want to parrot their team’s talking-points about how folks who are different than them should be forcibly removed using any and all available pretexts. It’s sad. It’s wrong. We know better. Now, if they, personally, were to be treated that way, they’d feel differently.
You realize the FAM precedent you cited has absolutely nothing to do with this case and is used by US consulates overseas, right? No, of course not. Stick to writing about airplanes and airlines.
The US State Department/Executive branch has almost carte blanch latitude via Federal immigration law (passed by Congress) in revoking immigrant green cards/visas.
Being in the US is a privilege, not a right. Something the Courts are forgetting as the overstep their Constitutional bounds.
Trying to open a jet bridge door after being denied boarding – and one could rightly assume causing a scene is fairly serious and well within the criteria for visa revocation.
@David427 — Nah, you’re showing your partisanship. I’d imagine that if it were the other ‘team’ abusing their power, disparaging their courts, etc., then you’d be arguing the opposite.
As citizens, ‘being’ in the US is absolutely not a mere privilege, it is indeed right. (as an aside, please do re-read the Declaration of Independence, too, where we clearly tell the British that we’re no fans of ‘exile,’ which is what the King would do to those he didn’t care for back then.
Likewise, even as a mere visitor, the US Constitution, due process, all of it, still applies to all people, not just citizens, dear sir.
As to your last point, more of a strawman, yes, don’t open those doors, please. Not sure if it’s worthy of revoking a visa, but that’s a determination the courts should decide, as they, the court, would be the ones to convict if it were a crime, which it may be, but we, as lay people, and they as the executive, don’t necessarily decide whether that’s a crime.