ICE Ordered to Reinstate Legal Status of Over 100 Students [View all]
Source: Newsweek
Published Apr 22, 2025 at 3:58 AM EDT | Updated Apr 22, 2025 at 5:03 AM EDT
A federal judge has ordered Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to restore the legal status of 133 students stripped of their F-1 visas and left facing deportation. Judge Victoria M. Calvert of Georgia's Northern District issued a temporary restraining order on Friday against the Trump Administration to stop it from taking the visas away from the students. The order will last 14 days. The Trump administration has until 5 p.m. on Tuesday, April 22, to restore the visas.
"The Constitution protects everyone on American soil, so the Trump administration cannot ignore due process to unjustifiably threaten students with the loss of immigration status, and arrest and deportation," said a statement from Akiva Freidlin, senior staff Attorney at the ACLU-Georgia, which brought the lawsuit. "We believe this ruling shows the students are likely to prevail on their claims and we are pleased the court ordered the government to halt its unlawful actions while the lawsuit continues."
Why It Matters
Immigration remains a central focus of Trump's policy platform. The White House has started revoking visas for international students accused of participating in pro-Palestinian activism on college campuses. The move follows Executive Order 14188, signed in early 2025, which targets antisemitism. Critics, however, argue that the order is being used to suppress free speech, pointing to visa cancellations linked to students involved in protests or the distribution of flyers.
What To Know
The lawsuit argued that by terminating the records, ICE is effectively stripping students of their legal status and rendering them subject to deportation. "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 lawsuit reads.
Read more: https://www.newsweek.com/ice-ordered-reinstate-legal-status-over-100-students-2062381
These students are a subset of the over 1000 who have reportedly had their visas revoked. Different suits have been filed in different jurisdictions to cover students living/working/going to school in those jurisdicitons.
REFERENCE - https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143442709
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