President Donald Trump has issued multiple executive orders authorizing the deportation of foreign nationals who “bear hostile attitudes” toward the United States and its “citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles.”
A coalition of international students at the University of Michigan and Wayne State University have filed a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s immigration policies and mass revocation of student visas.
According to The Detroit Free Press, the lawsuit was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan on behalf of students from India, China, and Nepal. The complaint names the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and its secretary, Kristi Noem, as defendants, among others.
“The Trump administration’s sudden revocation of the visas and immigration status of hundreds of students across the country, including at least six public universities here in Michigan, is the latest in a series of executive actions targeting immigrants and academic institutions,” the American Civil Liberties Union said in a press release. “As the ACLU’s lawsuit highlights, international students form a vital community at our state’s universities, and unilaterally stripping students of their status violates the law.”
Loren Khogali, the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan, said in a statement that the Trump administration has acted unlawfully by depriving students of their due process right to challenge the abrupt cancellation of their visas.
“The aim of this administration is to sow chaos and fear by attacking some people to terrorize us all,” Khogali said in a statement. “Now, they are coming for international students who provide critical perspectives and contributions to our academic communities and, through their spending, make a major contribution to our economy.”
Since taking office in January, the Trump administration has taken fear-reaching and wide-ranging action against international students, legal permanent residents, and undocumented immigrants. President Donald Trump has issued multiple executive orders authorizing the deportation of foreign nationals who “bear hostile attitudes” toward the United States and its “citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles.”
Another of Trump’s executive orders specifically targeted pro-Palestine protesters, ostensibly in the interest of combating antisemitism.
Nevertheless, a series of recent and highly-publicized arrests indicates that many students are being targeted for non-criminal infractions, including traffic citations.
All four of the plaintiffs say that they received notice from their universities last week that their status as students had been terminated; they are now at risk of being detained, deported, or both.
None of the students claimed to have criminal records, and none say that they attended pro-Palestine protests.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs stated that they are not certain whether their clients’ visas had actually been revoked, but say adjustments to their status in national databases are both concerning and unlawful.
“To be clear, Plaintiffs do not challenge the revocation of their F-1 visas in this case, assuming that their visas were actually revoked at all,” the lawsuit alleges. “Instead, Plaintiffs bring this lawsuit to challenge Defendants’ unlawful termination of their F-1 status in SEVIS.”
“There is a difference between an F-1 student visa and an F-1 student status,” it adds. “The F-1 student visa refers only to the document that grants permission for a noncitizen student to enter the United States, whereas F-1 student status, which is what is tracked in SEVIS, refers to that student’s formal immigration classification in the United Staes after they have entered.”
The students are seeking a court order to reinstate their status so that they can finish their programs without risking deportation.
Sources
4 University of Michigan, Wayne State international students sue Homeland Security
ACLU of Michigan sues Trump administration over international student visa revocation cases
Trump administration sued over purge of Mich. international students’ immigration status
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