Indian student & 3 others sue Trump administration over abrupt visa termination

An Indian student is one of four international students from public universities in Michigan who have filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), requesting the restoration of their immigration status, which was reportedly revoked without adequate notice or justification.

Chinmay Deore from India, Xiangyun Bu and Qiuyi Yang from China, and Yogesh Joshi from Nepal are challenging the abrupt cancellation of their F-1 student visas in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), a US government database that tracks nonimmigrant students. The students are represented by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Michigan, which also filed a request for an emergency injunction.

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“The lawsuit asks the court to reinstate the status of these students so that they will be able to complete their studies and avoid facing the risk of detention and deportation,” the ACLU said in a statement.

According to the complaint, the students were never given valid reasons for the termination, nor were they involved in any legal violations or campus protests. “None of them has been charged with, let alone convicted of, any crime in the US. None has violated any immigration law. Nor have they been active in on-campus protests regarding any political issue,” it stated.

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The lawsuit names DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons, and ICE Detroit Field Office Director Robert Lynch as defendants. It alleges that terminations appeared to be based on minor or lawful interactions with law enforcement, such as traffic violations or withdrawn entry applications.

“DHS did not provide the students or their schools any meaningful explanation for terminating their F-1 student status,” the lawsuit said.

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The case is part of a growing number of legal challenges targeting the Trump-era immigration enforcement policies, which continue to impact international students. Similar lawsuits have been filed in states including New Hampshire, Indiana, and California.

“These cruel and illegal government actions have real-life consequences,” said Ramis Wadood, staff attorney at the ACLU of Michigan. “Status terminations don't just disrupt the lives of the students being targeted; the government's actions will inevitably deter future international scholars from choosing Michigan and the US as their academic destination.”

(With TOI inputs)