Judge freezes Trump stay limits for students, journalists

A federal judge in Boston has halted the Trump administration's plan to impose fixed time limits on foreign students, exchange visitors and journalists staying in the United States. U.S. District Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV issued a preliminary injunction, blocking the rule one day before it was set to take effect on September 15.

The Department of Homeland Security's proposal would have replaced the current "duration of status" system, under which foreign students and exchange visitors typically receive stays of four years or more, with a new policy capping stays at four years for students and 240 days for journalists. Judge Saylor found that the department had provided "exceptionally weak" rationales for the change and had not adequately addressed objections raised during the rulemaking process.

He criticized the policy's impact on universities, international students, and the U.S. economy, calling the potential damage "catastrophic". The injunction affects about 1.6 million F visa holders and 500,000 J visa holders, many of whom are enrolled at prestigious institutions like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University.