Federal judge orders ICE to reinstate legal status of 133 foreign students

[Jessica_Rose]

Federal judge orders ICE to reinstate legal status of 133 foreign students

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/federal-judge-orders-ice-to-reinstate-legal-status-of-133-foreign-students/ar-AA1DnZFh?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=08898c42af744ec88ceccdc277328a68&ei=48

Story by Michael Dorgan (22 April 2025)

A federal judge in Georgia has ordered the Trump administration to reinstate the legal statuses of 133 international students by 5 p.m. Tuesday after their F-1 student visas were suddenly terminated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Homeland Security (DHS).

The students, many of whom are in good academic standing and close to graduation, had their records terminated on Homeland Security's SEVIS (Student and Exchange Visitor Information System) and they allege this was done without prior notice, proper explanation or an opportunity to respond. SEVIS is a database Homeland Security uses to monitor non-immigrant students.

U.S. District Court Judge Victoria Calvert, a Biden appointee, granted temporary restraining orders on behalf of the plaintiffs and ordered ICE and DHS to reinstate student statuses retroactively to March 31, 2025.

"Plaintiffs are likely to show that Defendants' termination of the SEVIS registration exceeds the bounds of statutory and regulatory authority and is therefore unlawful," Calvert wrote.

The plaintiffs argue that the SERVIS terminations were used as a coercive tool rather than a lawful enforcement action and that many of the students have no criminal records and were given short notice to leave the U.S. despite maintaining valid student visas.

"DHS's act of unlawfully terminating SEVIS records appears to be designed to coerce students, including each plaintiff, into abandoning their studies and 'self-deporting' despite not violating their status," the plaintiffs wrote.