Scores of foreign students across the country are included in a pair of sweeping lawsuits that allege the Trump administration unlawfully stripped them of their legal status amid a broader crackdown on immigration.
By CNN’s tally, more than 1,000 students and graduates have had their visas or statuses revoked, undermining their ability to remain in the US and continue their studies. Cases have ranged from high-profile instances involving alleged support of terror organizations to relatively minor offenses, like years-old misdemeanors.
While some affected students have brought individual cases, at least two federal lawsuits aim to represent large swaths of students at once – more than a hundred in each.
“I can file 133 lawsuits, but I think the court wouldn’t be happy about that, so we’re filing one,” Charles Kuck, the attorney for one of the cases and former president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, told CNN Sunday. Lawyers are expensive; grouping the cases together, Kuck said, made it possible for the plaintiffs to afford representation while ensuring his firm, Kuck Baxter, could litigate the case.
Both cases are focused on the plaintiffs’ lawful status as foreign students, which the lawsuits argue is distinct from the visa allowing them entry into the United States: The complaints allege the government unlawfully stripped the students of their status, leaving them vulnerable to detention or deportation.
Kuck told CNN he was aware of at least 10 other lawsuits filed on behalf of international students that made similar arguments.
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Here’s what we know.
A student’s legal status vs. their visa
At the heart of both lawsuits is the difference between a foreign student’s visa and their legal status as a student.
There are several types of visas for international students studying in the United States. Both lawsuits deal with F-1 visas, among the most common type of student visa.
The visa, however, is distinct from a student’s status, these lawsuits argue: The visa allows foreign students to enter the United States. Once admitted, they must “maintain” their status by pursuing their course of study, avoiding unauthorized employment and adhering to other rules.
Students walk on the first day of fall classes at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, on August 18, 2021. Joshua L. Jones/Online Athens/Imagn Images/File
While a person’s legal status – their ability to remain in the United States – is determined by US Citizenship and Immigration Services, part of the Department of Homeland Security, visas are issued by the State Department. DHS may initiate the termination of status for several reasons, one of the lawsuits notes, including by revoking a special waiver issued on the individual’s behalf, the introduction of a private bill to make them a permanent resident, or following a notification to the federal register citing national security, diplomatic or public safety reasons.
The expiration of an exchange visitor visa does not typically mean that person is immediately considered to be in the US illegally: ICE’s website notes someone can stay in the US even if their F-1 visa is expired – so long as they maintain their status.
Neither lawsuit challenges the students’ visa revocations – rather, they allege the Trump administration unlawfully terminated the plaintiffs’ legal status, kneecapping the students’ ability to continue working and studying in the United States and jeopardizing their plans for completing their programs.
Judge instructs government to restore students’ status in one case …
The first lawsuit – initially filed in the Northern District of Georgia on April 11 – originally included 17 foreign students attending colleges and universities in Georgia, Louisiana, Arizona, Texas, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Missouri, Illinois and New York. Nine of those students were from India; five were from China and one each were from Colombia, Mexico and Japan.
The case has since ballooned, with 133 foreign students included among the plaintiffs –– all of whom are identified using pseudonyms “due to fear of retaliation by Defendants.” US Attorney General Pam Bondi, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and Acting US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Todd Lyons are all named as defendants.
CNN has reached out to the White House, Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Attorney General’s office for comment.
From left: US Attorney General Pam Bondi, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, and acting US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Todd Lyons. Getty Images/Reuters
On Friday, a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order directing the government to reinstate the plaintiffs’ student status by Tuesday while the case proceeds.
The complaint argues the Trump administration terminated their statuses by removing the students from the Student and Exchange Visitor System, or SEVIS – an online database schools use to provide the government legally required information about international students.
According to the complaint, the plaintiffs’ SEVIS records were marked as “OTHER – Individual identified in criminal records check and/or has had their VISA revoked. SEVIS record has been terminated,” or “Otherwise Failing to Maintain Status.”
The lawsuit acknowledges some of the plaintiffs have faced criminal allegations or charges, but none have a criminal conviction. None have violated the restriction that requires they not be convicted of a violent crime carrying a sentence longer than one year, the lawsuit says.
For example, Jane Doe 1, a college student in Georgia, believes she is being targeted for a domestic violence case dismissed in February because “there was no underlying proof of any crime,” the complaint says. John Doe 2, also a Georgia student, believes he’s being targeted for traffic citations, including driving with an expired license plate while his driver’s license was withdrawn; his case was ultimately closed.
Regardless, the revocation of a visa is not grounds for the termination of student status, the lawsuit argues: “A nonimmigrant visa controls a noncitizen’s admission into the United States, not their continued stay.”
“Rather,” the lawsuit says, “DHS’s act of unlawfully terminating SEVIS records appears to be designed to coerce students, including each Plaintiff, into abandoning their studies and ‘self-deporting’ despite not violating their status.”
Attorneys for the plaintiffs celebrated the Friday ruling. Another hearing is set for Thursday.
“We believe this ruling shows the students are likely to prevail on their claims and we are pleased the court ordered the government to halt its unlawful actions while the lawsuit continues,” Akiva Freidlin, a senior staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia said in a statement Saturday.
… while the other is just getting started
The second lawsuit contains similar arguments. Filed Friday in the District of New Hampshire, it so far represents five international students: Three, all from India, attend Rivier University in New Hampshire, while two others are from China and attend the Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts.
However, the suit proposes to represent far more: The plaintiffs’ attorneys have asked the court to certify the case as a class action, which means it could include many other students in similar situations. The lawsuit notes at least 112 students have had their F-1 status terminated in New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Puerto Rico.
Sec. Noem, acting ICE Director Lyons, DHS and ICE are all named among the defendants.
Again, the plaintiffs allege they were stripped of their student statuses unlawfully.
Worcester Polytechnic Institute’s Washburn Shops building is seen May 23, 2015, in Worcester, Massachusetts. DenisTangneyJr/iStock Unreleased/Getty Images/File
One of the plaintiffs, a 23-year-old, claims to have received an email this month from his school notifying him his SEVIS record indicated he had failed to maintain status. “Individual identified in criminal records check and/or has had their VISA revoked,” it read, according to the lawsuit. “SEVIS record has been terminated.”
The language closely echoes that cited in the Georgia case.
The New Hampshire lawsuit also acknowledges the students had faced run-ins with police, mostly for traffic-related offenses.
“The only criminal matters the individual Plaintiffs have encountered are either dismissed non-violent misdemeanor charges or driving without a valid US driver’s license (but using an international or foreign driver’s license),” the lawsuit says.
“While Defendants’ reasons for these mass terminations of student status are unclear, what is clear is that these terminations – across the board – flout the applicable regulations governing student status termination and the regulations governing failure to maintain student status.”
