The Trump administration said it would reinstate hundreds of international student visas that were revoked over the last few weeks, a major policy reversal that follows a spate of lawsuits from students at US universities across the country.

Professors reached by Gothamist Friday questioned why the school — a flashpoint in the debate over deportations, after high-profile cases in which foreign students who’d protested Israel’s campaign in Gaza found their legal status revoked — say the school should have fought back against removals they argue were always on shaky legal ground.