The ACLU of Michigan filed a federal lawsuit this week against the Trump administration on behalf of four international students who have had their student visa status terminated by the federal government.
According to the Associated Press, university officials across the country have been learning of these status terminations upon checking a database managed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
The lawsuit says the students were notified via email that their F-1 student status was revoked. The emails came from university officials, citing visa revocation and criminal record checks.
These four student in the lawsuit are attending Wayne State University and the University of Michigan.
ACLU of Michigan staff attorney Ramis Wadood said the four plaintiffs do not have criminal records—some without so much as a parking ticket.
“We have not seen any rhyme or reason to how the Trump Administration targeted these students. At most, we have seen a large number of Indian, Chinese, and Nepalese students affected” he said. “But their criminal and civil records differ far too much for there to be any common denominator.”
The lawsuit says the termination of the students’ status is unconstitutional, violating their right to due process. It asks the court to reinstate the students’ status, so they can resume their studies without being detained or deported.
“The school doesn’t even know why, because the government hasn’t given anybody notice explaining why they’re doing this,” said Wadood. “[The students] are just left in the dark, and left to pack their bags. But luckily, our four clients want to stand up and fight back against this lawless termination of their status.”
Since last week, DHS has terminated the student status of hundreds of international students. This includes 22 reported at the University of Michigan and others at Michigan State University, Central Michigan University, Grand Valley State University and more.
“People without American citizenship are our neighbors, they are our friends. They walk down the street, drive down the street with us. And we need to show up for them, support them, and treat them like equal members of our community,” said Wadood.
