-
Original Date Announced
April 4, 2025Press reports and numerous lawsuits indicate that DHS is revoking visas and terminating status of many students for reasons unrelated to campus protests or speech activity. Inside Higher Ed is regularly tracking student visa revocations (those with and without allegations of campus activism) here.
The Associated Press reports "the government apparently has widened its crackdown" and is now revoking residency status for students who have no connection to pro-Palestinian protests. Officials from colleges around the country have discovered international students have had their entry visas revoked and, in many cases, their legal residency status terminated by authorities without notice." The basis for termination is often unclear, although some have allegedly had their status revoked "over misdemeanor crimes or traffic infractions."
AP explains that in the past, a student whose entry visa was revoked could keep living and studying in the United States, but would "need to renew their visa if they left the U.S. and wanted to return." Typically, a university was notified when a student's visa was revoked. Now, however, "increasing numbers of students are having their legal status terminated exposing them to the risk of being arrested," and DHS is not communicating with universities re termination decisions.
"Students stripped of their entry visas are receiving orders from the Department of Homeland Security to leave the country immediately," and there are some reported incidents of students being detained by immigration authorities. Students at Arizona State, Cornell, North Carolina State, the University of Oregon, the University of Texas, the University of Colorado, the University of Alabama, and Tufts University have been affected.
Trump 2.0 [ID #1666]
2025.04.04 Reported: Federal officials are quietly terminating the legal residency of some international college students - Associated PressEffective Date
April 4, 2025Subsequent Trump and Court Action(s)
-
March 30, 2025
2025.03.30 Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus - Gunaydin v. Trump
Dogukan Gunaydin, a graduate student from Turkey attending the University of Minnesota, filed a writ of habeas corpus to challenge the legality of his detention. Gunaydin was arrested by ICE on March 28 and had his visa revoked hours later. According to reporting by the New York Times, DHS has alleged that Gunaydin was arrested in connection with a 2023 DUI case in which he pleaded guilty—not due to participation in campus activism. Gunaydin v. Trump, No. 0:25-cv-01151 (D. Minn.).
**Litigation entries are limited to initial complaints and major substantive rulings. For pleadings and additional information, use name and docket number to search Civil Rights Clearinghouse and CourtListener or visit Just Security Litigation Tracker**
View Document -
April 5, 2025
2025.04.05 Reported: Foreign students are quietly being pushed out of the US without reason or process - Economic Times
The Economic Times reports that ICE has started cancelling foreign student visas at universities across the country "without any formal communication from federal authorities. Many institutions are only finding out after students receive alarming emails stating their SEVIS [Student and Exchange Visitor Information System] records have been revoked."
View Document -
April 5, 2025
20205.04.05 Reported: Trump administration cancels dozens of international student visas at University of California, Stanford - Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times reports that "dozens of international students attending several California universities have had their visas revoked by the Trump administration." The Times notes that UC San Diego Chancellor Pradeep Khosla stated that the university received the terminations "without warning . . . Khosla said a sixth student was “detained at the border, denied entry and deported to their home country.” A statement by the University of California school system stated that they are “aware that international students across several of our campuses have been impacted by recent SEVIS terminations."
View Document -
April 5, 2025
2025.04.05 Complaint - Student Doe 1 v. Noem
An international student who was on an F-1 visa filed suit after their SEVIS status was terminated and visa revoked. The lawsuit argues that the SEVIS termination violates the Administrative Procedure Act and the Fifth Amendment’s due process guarantee. Student Doe 1 v. Noem, No. 5:25-cv-00847 (C.D. Cal.).
**See litigation note above**
View Document -
April 7, 2025
2025.04.07 - Complaint - C.S. v. Noem
An international student attending school in Pennsylvania on an F-1 visa filed a class action complaint alleging that the termination of C.S.'s SEVIS record was arbitrary and capricious, not in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act and applicable law, and failed to provide C.S. with notice and opportunity to be heard. According to the complaint, "DHS terminated C.S.'s SEVIS record based on a criminal records check" based upon an expunged arrested for disorderly conduct and public drunkenness for which the district attorney dropped all charges.
The proposed class would include "all student visa holders within the United States whose SEVIS records have been terminated by DHS based on criminal records checks showing only charges that do not interfere with the students' 'normal progress toward completion of a course of study,'" citing 8 C.F.R. § 214.2(f)(5), which provides that such students are "considered to be maintaining status." C.S. requests an injunction requiring DHS to reinstate the SEVIS records of the proposed class members. C.S. v. Noem, No. 2:25-cv-00477 (W.D. Pa.).
**See litigation note above**
View Document -
April 7, 2025
2025.04.07 Reported: Nearly 300 Students Have Had Visas Revoked and Could Face Deportation - New York Times
The New York Times reports that "[n]early 300 international students were abruptly stripped of their ability to stay in the United States in recent days, according to universities and media reports."
View Document -
April 9, 2025
2025.04.10 Doe v. Noem, Case No: 2:25-cv-00633 (Complaint)
On April 9, 2025, a doctoral student from China who is studying at the University of Washington sued DHS for revoking terminating his SEVIS access based on a pending DUI charge. The lawsuit alleges that the government's acts were arbitrary, and in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act and the Fifth Amendment's Due Process requirements. The complaint states that, "[n]othing in these regulations authorizes termination based solely on an arrest without a conviction or a mere allegation of wrongdoing." Doe v. Noem, Case No: 2:25-cv-00633 (W.D. Wash.).
**Litigation entries are limited to initial complaints and major substantive rulings. For pleadings and additional information, use name and docket number to search Civil Rights Clearinghouse and CourtListener or visit Just Security Litigation Tracker**
View Document
Current Status
NoneOriginal Trump Policy Status
Status: ReportedTrump Administration Action: Change in PracticeSubject Matter: Non-Immigrant Visas: StudentAssociated or Derivative Policies
Documents
Trump-Era Policy Documents
-
Subsequent Action
Original Source:
Complaint - Student Doe 1 v. Noem
-
Subsequent Action
Original Source:
Complaint - C.S. v. Noem
-
Subsequent Action
Original Source:
Complaint - Doe v. Noem
To provide information, corrections, or feedback, please email IPTP.feedback@gmail.com
To provide information, corrections, or feedback, please email IPTP.feedback@gmail.com
Commentary
2025.03.31 Minnesota Student Detained by ICE Was Not an Activist, Lawsuit Says - New York Times
The New York Times describes Gunaydin's arrest and lawsuit, and explains how the detention and deportation of visa holders over misdemeanors such as drunken driving would constitute an escalation of enforcement policies.
Go to article2025.04.07 AILA - Practice Alert: SEVIS Records of International Students Being Terminated by ICE
The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) publishes a practice alert outlining options available for attorneys of international student clients who had their SEVIS records terminated.
Go to article2025.04.08 AILA - Policy Brief: Immigration Enforcement Actions Against International Students
The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) explains how student visas differ from other nonimmigrant visa types, the legal pathways to revoking and terminating a student visa, and the due process protections that are available.
Go to article2025.04.10 The Intercept: Trump appears to be targeting Muslim and “non-white” students for deportation
The Intercept reports that attorney attestations and new lawsuits show that a large number of international students targeted by the Trump Administration for deportation were "from Muslim-majority countries or other countries in Asia and Africa." The article also notes that immigration officials have gone after those "with minor infractions or misdemeanors on their record, or, for others, no criminal history at all." Furthermore, it highlights that the attempted deportations “appea[r] to be designed to coerce students . . . into abandoning their studies and ‘self-deporting’ despite not violating their status.”
Go to article