A class-action lawsuit filed on Friday asks a US federal court to reinstate the legal status of international students who have been stripped of their visas in a Trump administration crackdown that has left more than a thousand fearful of deportation.
The suit filed by several American Civil Liberties Union affiliates seeks to represent more than 100 students in New England and Puerto Rico, including graduate students from countries like China and India.
“International students are a vital community in our state’s universities, and no administration should be allowed to circumvent the law to unilaterally strip students of status, disrupt their studies, and put them at risk of deportation,” said Gilles Bissonnette, legal director of the ACLU of New Hampshire.
At schools around the country, students have seen their visas revoked or their legal status terminated, typically with little notice.
About 1,100 students at more than 170 colleges, universities and university systems have been affected since late March, according to an Associated Press review of university statements, correspondence with school officials and court records. Associated Press is working to confirm reports of hundreds more students affected.
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Trump wants to sell US$5 million ‘gold cards’ to foreigners considering a move to US
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Students have filed other lawsuits arguing they were denied due process. Federal judges have granted temporary restraining orders in New Hampshire, Wisconsin and Montana, shielding students from efforts to remove them from the US.