International students file legal challenges over widespread US visa
revocations
[April 15, 2025]
By ANNIE MA
WASHINGTON (AP) — Several international students who have had their
visas revoked in recent weeks have filed lawsuits against the Trump
administration, arguing the government denied them due process when it
suddenly took away their permission to be in the U.S.
The actions by the federal government to terminate students' legal
status have left hundreds of scholars at risk of detention and
deportation. Their schools range from private universities like Harvard
and Stanford to large public institutions like the University of
Maryland and Ohio State University to some small liberal arts colleges.
In lawsuits against the Department of Homeland Security, students have
argued the government lacked justification to cancel their visa or
terminate their legal status.
Why is the government canceling international students' visas?
Visas can be canceled for a number of reasons, but colleges say some
students are being singled out over infractions as minor as traffic
violations, including some long in the past. In some cases, students say
it's unclear why they were targeted.
“The timing and uniformity of these terminations leave little question
that DHS has adopted a nationwide policy, whether written or not, of
mass termination of student (legal) status,” ACLU of Michigan attorneys
wrote in a lawsuit on behalf of students at Wayne State University and
the University of Michigan.
In New Hampshire, a federal judge last week issued a restraining order
in the case of a Dartmouth College computer science student from China,
Xiaotian Liu, who had his status terminated by the government. Attorneys
have filed similar challenges in federal court in Georgia and
California.
Homeland Security officials did not respond to a message seeking
comment.
In some high-profile cases, including the detention of Columbia
University activist Mahmoud Khalil, President Donald Trump's
administration has argued it should be allowed to deport noncitizens
over involvement in pro-Palestinian activism. But in the vast majority
of visa revocations, colleges say there is no indication affected
students had a role in protests.
“What you’re seeing happening with international students is really a
piece of the much greater scrutiny that the Trump administration is
bringing to bear on immigrants of all different categories,” said
Michelle Mittelstadt, director of public affairs at the Migration Policy
Institute.
How do student visas work?
Students in other countries must meet a series of requirements to obtain
a student visa, usually an F-1. After gaining admission to a school in
the U.S., students go through an application and interview process at a
U.S. embassy or consulate abroad.
Students on an F-1 visa must show they have enough financial support for
their course of study in the U.S. They have to remain in good standing
with their academic program and are generally limited in their ability
to work off-campus during their academic program.
Entry visas are managed by the State Department. Once they're in the
U.S., international students’ legal status is overseen by the Student
and Exchange Visitor Program under the Department of Homeland Security.
[to top of second column]
|
A student walks by the Rush Rhees Library at the University of
Rochester, Feb. 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File)
In recent weeks, leaders at many colleges learned the legal
residency status of some of their international students had been
terminated when college staff checked a database managed by Homeland
Security. In the past, college officials say, legal statuses
typically were updated after colleges told the government the
students were no longer studying at the school.
After losing legal residency, students are told to leave the country
Historically, students who had their visas revoked were allowed to
keep their legal residency status and complete their studies.
The lack of a valid entry visa only limited their ability to leave
the U.S. and return, something they could reapply for with the State
Department. But if a student has lost legal residency status, they
risk detention by immigration authorities. Some students already
have left the country, abandoning their studies to avoid being
arrested.
Higher education leaders worry the arrests and visa revocations
could discourage students overseas from pursuing higher education in
the United States.
The lack of clarity of what is leading to revocations can create a
sense of fear among students, said Sarah Spreitzer, vice president
of government relations at the American Council on Education.
“The very public actions that are being taken by ICE and the
Department of Homeland Security around some of these students, where
they are removing these students from their homes or from their
streets, that’s not usually done unless there is a security issue
when a student visa is revoked,” she said. “The threat of this very
quick removal is something that’s new.”
Colleges are trying to reassure students
In messages to their campuses, colleges have said they are asking
the federal government for answers on what led to the terminations.
Others have re-emphasized travel precautions to students,
recommending they carry their passports and other immigration
documents with them.
College leaders spoke of a growing sense of uncertainty and anxiety.
“These are unprecedented times, and our normal guiding principles
for living in a democratic society are being challenged,” University
of Massachusetts Boston Chancellor Marcelo Suárez-Orozco wrote in an
email. “With the rate and depth of changes occurring, we must be
thoughtful in how we best prepare, protect, and respond.”
Suárez-Orozco said the legal residency status had been canceled for
two students and “five other members of our university community
including recent graduates participating in training programs.”
All contents © copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved |
