This post was updated April 25 at 1:05 p.m.

The U.S. Department of Justice announced it would restore the visas of international students who had theirs revoked in recent weeks.

The Trump administration revoked visas from at least 19 UCLA students and alumni participating in the Optional Practical Training program. At least 1,800 international students and recent alumni at over 280 colleges across the country have had their visas revoked, according to an analysis by Inside Higher Ed. 

An attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice said in a Friday hearing that it planned to restore the visas of these students while U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement develops a consistent “framework for status record termination.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a March 28 press conference that the federal government planned to cancel the visas of students who advocate for policies “in direct contradiction of our national interest.” However, some students across the country who had their visas revoked said they were never given a clear answer why, according to the Associated Press.

“We can cancel a student visa under the law just the same way that we can deny a student visa under the law. And we will do so in cases we find appropriate,” Rubio said in the press conference. “I just think it’s crazy to continue to provide visas so people can come here and advocate for policies that are in direct contradiction of our national interest.” 

Many of the UCLA students whose visas were revoked had previously been arrested for at least a criminal misdemeanor, according to minutes from a meeting between UCLA administrators and Undergraduate Students Association Council officers. These arrests ranged from “simple arrests with no convictions to full-blown court cases,” according to the minutes.

[Related: Students who had visas revoked were previously arrested, USAC meeting reveals]

Mary Osako, UCLA’s vice chancellor for strategic communications, said in an emailed statement that the university is working to confirm the reactivation of students’ records in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, a platform that the federal government uses to track student visas.

“We’re actively working to confirm the reactivation of the SEVIS status for several current and former UCLA students and will be contacting them about this change,” she said in the statement. “As we work to provide clarity to our students, we remain committed to supporting our international Bruins’ ability to work, teach, learn, and thrive at UCLA.”

United Auto Workers Local 4811 President Rafael Jaime said in a statement that the visa restorations are a “victory” for international workers. 

Nearly half of the union – which represents academic student employees, graduate students, and academic and postdoctoral researchers across the UC –  consists of international students, he added in the statement. 

“International academic workers perform a significant portion of STEM research both in California and nationwide,”Jaime said in the statement. “They are frequently the best in their fields, and they come to the U.S. for the chance to contribute to cutting-edge research that has improved lives and generated billions in economic gains.”

Courts had also challenged several of the revocations. A judge temporarily reinstated the F-1 status of Edward Zhou, a UCLA student whose visa was revoked, April 15.

Zhou, a fourth-year international student from China, sued ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons on April 7, alleging that the federal government revoked his student visa unlawfully. U.S. District Court Judge Cynthia Valenzuela granted Zhou a temporary restraining order April 15, reinstating his visa during the litigation process. 

According to the judicial order, Zhou had a “prior brush in with the law,” but was never informed of the official reason why his visa was revoked.

Zhou received an email from UCLA’s international student office saying his visa was terminated April 3, according to the order. The email cited a notation from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which said Zhou had been “identified” in a criminal records check.

His visa was officially revoked two days later, according to the order.

Valenzuela wrote in the order that Zhou established he would suffer “irreparable harm” – a requirement for issuing a temporary restraining order – without his student visa, as not having F-1 status would prevent him from completing his degree and could subject him to “arrest, deportation, and accruing unlawful presence.”

She added in the order that the federal government exceeded its legal authority in terminating Zhou’s Student and Exchange Visitor Information System record.

“The Government’s decision to terminate Plaintiff’s F-1 student status in SEVIS is hereby set aside pending further order from the Court,” the order said.