A foreign graduate student at Cornell University says he is no longer facing deportation, ending a two-week fight over the status of his visa after he participated in a noisy and disruptive anti-Israel protest. 

Cornell University temporarily suspended a PhD candidate from the United Kingdom, Momodou Taal, last month over his participation in an anti-Israel protest that reportedly led to complaints of hearing loss. As the punishment was his second suspension, it put his F-1 student visa and ability to stay in America at risk if his appeal was rejected.

However, on Thursday morning, Mr. Taal said in an update that the university “has decided to allow me to remain an enrolled student, which will allow me to keep my visa and submit my thesis.” He called the decision a “dramatic shift” as he said Cornell had appeared “determined to see me removed.”

The update from Mr. Taal said there were “outside forces” trying to “ensure” he was forced to leave the country but expressed appreciation for the people who signed petitions urging the university to change course. 

An attorney representing the graduate student, Eric Lee, said Cornell “attempted to set a dangerous precedent by collaborating with DHS to revoke a student’s visa without due process, and they failed.”

The vice president for University Relations, Joel Malina, did not specifically address Mr. Taal’s case but told The New York Sun that Cornell “has a robust, multi-step process to render both interim measures and final resolutions in situations where students are alleged to have violated the Student Code of Conduct.”

“The federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) protects the records of individual students and bars institutions from discussing specific conduct cases. Additionally, Cornell does not disclose details of individual faculty or staff referred for disciplinary review,” Mr. Malina added.

The lengthy statement noted Cornell “identified 19 individuals who disrupted university operations as part of a protest,” and they were referred for interim academic and non-academic punishments, and three individuals were arrested.

Mr. Malina said the interim measures are a “first step” that students have the right to appeal.

Mr. Taal said the university accused him of engaging in “escalating, egregious behavior and a disregard for the University policies” during an anti-Israel protest. However, Mr. Taal has insisted that there was no investigation to corroborate the allegations and that he was being targeted because he is a Black Muslim student.

In a statement last week, Cornell’s interim president, Michael Kotlikoff, sought to counter the claim that the protest was “a peaceful or harmless rally” by saying protesters “physically forced their way” into the event “with the full knowledge that they were violating policy.”

Mr. Kotlikoff stated there is “ample video and photographic evidence of these activities,” which has been used to identify “nearly 20 individuals” who participated in the demonstration.

“All who have been identified as Cornell students are being referred for conduct violations. Other members of our community who are identified as having participated will face similar referrals. No one has been singled out, and no one who did not participate in the disruption of this university event has been referred,” he said. 

He also addressed the concerns Mr. Taal was not being afforded due process in this case as he laid out the appeal process for students facing suspension.

Cornell says that federal law requires it to terminate an F-1 visa if a student is not allowed to enroll at the university due to disciplinary action.

The fight over whether Mr. Taal would be allowed to stay in the country sparked protests on campus as students rallied in support of Mr. Taal. It has also garnered the attention of Senator Sanders, who called it “appalling” and urged Cornell to “reverse course immediately.”