ACLU sues Trump administration for targeting international students

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is suing President Trump’s administration in federal court for targeting international students who had their legal status revoked. 

“The consequences of Defendants’ unilateral and unlawful termination are dire. The termination puts students out of lawful student status. Plaintiffs and the class face immigration detention and deportation. Plaintiffs and the class face severe financial and academic hardship. Further, Plaintiffs and the class are not able to obtain their degrees and work pursuant to the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program after graduation,” ACLU’s lawyers wrote in the class action lawsuit filed in New Hampshire. 

“Indeed, Defendants’ unilateral and unlawful terminations have severely disrupted the educational opportunities of students who are in the middle of their studies (and in the middle of a semester) and who are simply trying to obtain, often at considerable expense, an education in the United States while following all the rules required of them,” the attorneys said in the lawsuit filed by several ACLU affiliates. 

Foreign students studying at U.S. universities and colleges have had their legal statuses terminated or their F-1 student visas revoked. As part of Trump’s immigration crackdown, around 1,100 students at more than 170 schools have been impacted since late last month, The Associated Press’ tally has found. 

International students have countered, filing lawsuits in states such as Wisconsin, Montana and New Hampshire and have secured temporary restraining orders that bar them, for now, from being deported from the country. 

“The American Civil Liberties Union appears far more interested in protecting foreign students than the civil liberties and safety of Americans. They should consider changing their name. It is a privilege to be granted a visa to live & study in the United States of America,” Department of Homeland Security’s Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement to The Hill. “When you break our laws and advocate for violence and terrorism, that privilege should be revoked, and you should not be in this country.” 

McLaughlin added that for “case-specific inquiries related to visa revocation or individual revocation status, DHS defers to the Department of State.” 

Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters last month that over 300 student visas have been terminated and the figures climbed up daily. 

International students who have participated in on-campus demonstrations protesting Israel’s war in Gaza have had their visas pulled. But some foreign students who have criminal records were also targeted. 

“We don’t go into statistics or numbers; we don’t go into the rationale for what happens with individual visas. What we can tell you is that the department revokes visas every day in order to secure our borders and to keep our community safe, and we’ll continue to do so,” State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said earlier this week.