According to the foreign news agency AFP, the students alleged that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency unlawfully and abruptly removed their status from the government’s Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) database, putting them at risk of arrest and deportation.
Initially, the complaint was filed by 17 students in the state of Georgia on April 11. Since then, 116 more students have joined the case, as the Trump administration was conducting a widespread crackdown on immigration, targeting not only others but also international students.
According to court documents and media reports, international students across U.S. campuses are facing difficulties as they have discovered that their visas were canceled either without reason or with minimal justification.
In the Georgia lawsuit, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons have been named as defendants. The plaintiffs are seeking the reinstatement of their canceled visas.
The complaint, which did not identify the students by name due to “fear of retaliation,” includes summaries where plaintiffs try to understand why they were targeted.
One student suspects it may be related to a traffic violation that was later dismissed, and according to the filing, has no other criminal history.
An Indian student from the New York Institute of Technology stated that he was found not guilty of shoplifting and that the case had been dismissed.
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