Washington: The class action lawsuit filed Friday demanded that federal courts restore legal status as international students trapped in the Trump administration’s crackdown, which left more than a thousand fears of deportation.
Several U.S. civil union branches have filed lawsuits to represent more than 100 students in New England and Puerto Rico.
“International students are an important community in our state universities and should not be allowed to unilaterally deprive students of status, undermine their studies and deport them from the risk of deportation,” said Gilles Bissonnette, Legal Director of New Hampshire ACLU.
In schools across the country, students see visas revoked or terminated legal status, usually with little notice.
About 1,100 students in the university and university system have been affected since late March, according to the Associated Press statements to university, with regard to dealings with school officials and court records. The Associated Press is working to confirm reports from hundreds of affected students.
The students filed other lawsuits, believing they were denied due process. Federal judges have granted temporary restraining orders in New Hampshire, Wisconsin and Montana, blocking students from their efforts to remove them from the United States
The plaintiffs in the new lawsuit filed in the federal court of New Hampshire learned without warning of their F-1 student status, but suspected their ability to stay in the country and complete their studies.
One of them is Manikanta Pasula, India, who is at a Master of Computer Science degree from Rivier University in New Hampshire and applies to stay in the country through a work program for international students. Hangrui Zhang from China once came to the United States to obtain his doctorate. Electronics and Computer Science Program in Worcester Polytechnic, Massachusetts. The complaint says that now, he is unable to serve as a research assistant, which is his only source of income.
Lawyers said the government has no notice that it must be provided before termination of the legal status of foreign students.
The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to news seeking comments.
Last month, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the State Department was revoking visas held by tourists with opposite national interests, including some people protesting Israel’s war in Gaza and facing criminal charges.
In some high-profile cases, such as involving Columbia University activist Mahmoud Khalil, the Trump administration believes that participating in pro-Palestine activists is the fundamental principle of deportation.
But the university says most students affected by visa revocation have no role in these protests. The university says many people have been picked out for traffic violations that have happened long ago, and in some cases the reasons are unclear.
