Four students, including an Indian student, sued the Donald Trump administration for what they alleged was the unlawful termination of their student immigration status, which leaves them at risk of possible deportation.
India's Chinmay Deore was among four international students at Michigan public universities who filed a federal lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and immigration officials on Friday.
Other complainants were Xiangyun Bu and Qiuyi Yang from China and Yogesh Joshi from Nepal.
The students alleged that their student immigration status in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) was illegally terminated “without sufficient notice and explanation.”
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The students claim that their F-1 student visas were abruptly and unlawfully revoked in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS). SEVIS is a database that tracks information about nonimmigrant students and exchange visitors in the US.
What are the students demanding?
"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," it said.
{{/usCountry}}"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," it said.
{{/usCountry}}The lawsuit, filed with the support of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Michigan, also includes a request for an emergency injunction to prevent the students from being deported while legal proceedings continue.
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"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," said a complaint in the court, naming DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, acting ICE Director Todd Lyons, and ICE Detroit Field Office Director Robert Lynch.
"DHS did not provide the students or their schools any meaningful explanation for terminating their F-1 student status," the complaint said.
The lawsuit comes as the Trump administration's immigration crackdown strikes higher education, prompting a slew of lawsuits against White House officials.
Similar lawsuits have been filed across the country in states like New Hampshire, Indiana, and California as well.
The case highlights mounting concerns over the impact of federal immigration policies on the US higher education system, particularly in states like Michigan that rely heavily on international students for both academic and economic contributions.
(with PTI inputs)