International students pursuing diplomas in public universities in Michigan asked for a repair of detention and expulsion during a hearing by the Federal Court on Tuesday, after the termination of their Immigration status of students this month, compromising their legal status in the United States
Students – two citizens of China, one of Nepal and another from India – have taken legal action against the Ministry of Internal Security (DHS) and immigration officials, claiming that their student immigration status in the information system on student visitors and exchange (SEVIS) was illegally dismissed “without notice and sufficient explanation”.
SEVIS is a database following information on non-immigrant students and visitors’ exchange in the United States
“According to the government, they no longer have legal status in the United States and they must leave the country immediately,” an American Civil Libertés (ACLU) lawyer from Michigan who represents the students told ABC.
He noted that students had no period of grace.
“You have no more status and you have to leave the country immediately,” said Wadood.
The complaint was filed before the American district court by Michigan aclu on behalf of the students – Xiangyun bu, Qiuyi Yang, Yogesh Joshi and Chinmay Deore. According to the complaint, in addition to the termination of their status of immigration to students, Yang and Joshi were informed that their visas of F-1 students, which allowed them to enter the country, were also revoked.
“None of them has been charged, not to mention sentenced for any crime in the United States,” said the complaint. “None has violated the Immigration Act. They were not active in the demonstrations on the campus concerning any political problem.”
Center-city center of Detroit, Michigan
Pawel.Gaul / Getty Images
Student lawyers argued during a Tuesday morning hearing before a Federal Detroit court for a temporary ban order which would restore their legal status and protect them from arrest or expulsion as the case is advancing.
According to Wadood, the judge said that he had “recognized the urgency of the situation and said that he would govern soon”.
Wadood told ABC News on Monday that its customers were likely to be arrested by immigration and customs application (ICE) and were “afraid” and have stopped running in person.
“Our customers have been authorized to continue their studies insofar as their teachers and their programs will adapt,” said Wadood, adding that they are trying to resume their studies at a distance because “they risk arrest and detention at any time”.
The trial appoints the secretary of the DHS, Kristi Noem, the acting director of the ice Todd Lyons and the director of the Ice Detroit field office, Robert Lynch. ABC News contacted the officials, but the requests for comments were not immediately returned.
“The DHS has not provided students or their schools with a significant explanation to end their Student F-1,” said the complaint. “At most, what seems to connect the students targeted by this policy found and illegal is that students had a meeting with an official of the US law application at some point in the past, regardless of how the speed or parking demand (or even a warning) or to legally withdraw a request to enter the United States.”
Internal security secretary Kristi Noem speaks at the Border Security Expo at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Arizona, on April 8, 2025.
Rebecca Noble / Pool / AFP via Getty Images
The judicial files show four distinct letters that each of the students received from their potential universities informing them that their status of immigration to students has been terminated. The reason cited by the DHS in all cases is “individual identified in the judicial lockers”, and for Yang and Joshi, he also says “and / or a visa revoked”.
The Trump administration made an answer on Monday evening at the applicant’s request for a temporary ban order, urging the judge to “refuse this request because it is procedural and substantially inappropriate”.
“An emergency request for a temporary prohibition prescription can only be used to maintain the status quo; it cannot be used to obtain the ultimate complainants that applicants are looking for in this case, which is the alteration of their SEVIS file,” he said.
The government also said in Monday’s file that students had legal records, but had not provided additional details.
“The DHS looked for a criminal record for each of the complainants and matches on the criminal history was returned for each of the complainants,” said his answer.
Wadood denied that one of his clients has ever been charged or found guilty of a crime. He said that by explaining their reference to “judicial lockers”, the government cited three of its customers detained for alleged domestic disputes.
They were then released and were not accused of crimes, while a applicant “does not have as much as a simple speed ticket or a parking ticket” on their file, according to Wadood
“The criminal history of our complainants are clean. They have no conviction, no accusation,” he said.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio listens as President Donald Trump meets the president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, in the White House Oval office in Washington, DC, April 14, 2025.
Brendan Smialowski / AFP via Getty Images
The federal trial comes as the repression of immigration from the Trump administration is hitting higher education, which caused a multitude of prosecution against the White House officials. Similar lawsuits have been filed across the country in states such as New Hampshire, Indiana and California.
According to ED inside – A publication which follows the news in higher education – Tuesday on 180 colleges and universities identified nearly 1,200 international students and recent graduates who have changed their legal status by the State Department.
“If the courts do not end this action of the arbitrary government, the generations of future international students will see what is going on today and decide:” You know what, it is probably not for me to go to the United States to study “,” said Wadood. “And our university establishments, our university communities, will be much worse because of this.”
The Trump administration seems to target certain international students with student visas and green cards holders for their participation in pro-Palestinian events on university campuses or for an alleged criminal record.
“A visa is a gift. This is a voluntary thing. We decide to give you a visa,” said Secretary of State Marco Rubio said At a press conference on March 28. “We refuse visas from around the world every day for various reasons, which means that we can also revoke these visas. No one is entitled to a visa.”
