Tucson attorney sues Trump administration over ‘unlawful’ student visa cancellations

A Tucson attorney filed lawsuits on behalf of two university students, accusing the Trump administration and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement of “abruptly and unlawfully” terminating visas allowing them to remain and study in the United States.

Matthew Green, an attorney with Green Evans-Schroeder, filed two lawsuits in federal court Tuesday, arguing his clients are among hundreds of students on F-1 visas who were told they failed to maintain their legal status to stay in the U.S. 

He stated that ICE’s policy of “unlawfully terminating SEVIS records—whether in conjunction with F-1 visa revocations or not—appears to be designed to coerce students, including plaintiff, into abandoning their studies or post-graduate employment and ‘self-deporting’ despite not violating their status.” 

As part his suits, Green asked the courts to declare the terminations were unlawful and restore the their access, and block the federal government from taking any enforcement action “arising directly or indirectly from their misdemeanor conviction, the unlawful termination of their SEVIS, or the potential unlawful revocation of their F-1 visa which may have already occurred.” 

He also asked the court to protect both of his clients from being detained by ICE, stating that the agency was likely to transport them to detention facilities in Louisiana. 

The lawsuit was first reported by the Arizona Daily Star. 

The two students are part of a wider purge launched against international students by the Trump administration. At least 1,300 students at more than 210 colleges and universities had their legal status changed by the State Department. Some lost their visas because of the political activism over the war in Gaza, while others were accused of minor crimes, Inside High Ed reported. 

At least 50 Arizona State University students had their visas revoked over the last few weeks, Arizona Luminaria reported. 

The University of Arizona has refused to acknowledge how many, if any, students may have lost their visas this spring, citing privacy concerns. 

In early April, both students involved in the lawsuits — one a master’s student, the other a post-graduate doctoral student — were told they had lost their status on the Student and Exchange Visitor Information Systems, or SEVIS.

ICE officials maintain SEVIS through the Student and Exchange Visitor Program and the records are tracked by universities to ensure students have the legal right to study and work in the U.S. 

According to Green, both students received notices their SEVIS record was terminated for “otherwise failing to maintain status – Individuals identified in criminal records check and/or has had their visas revoked.” 

Green wrote his clients are among hundreds, “if not more, F-1 students nationwide whose SEVIS record has been abruptly and unlawfully terminated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the past two weeks, in an attempt to strip them of their ability to lawfully remain in the United States.” 

“On information and belief, this policy appears to be primarily targeting African, Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslim, and Asian students,” Green wrote. 

The Trump administration has engaged in a harsh crackdown against immigrants since Jan. 20, shuttering asylum programs, gutting key oversight programs, and likely violating human rights by shipping people to a notorious prison in El Salvador. The administration has also refused to return a man deported to El Salvador despite federal court orders to do so, and attorneys may face contempt charges. Meanwhile, the administration has sought legal cover to allow ICE officials to raid churches and schools, and ordered the military to occupy federal land and arrest people crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. 

There are nearly 22,000 students on F-1 visas studying in Arizona, according to ICE data. Nearly 44 percent are in masters or post-doc programs, while about 34 percent are in bachelors programs. Nearly 18,000 students are from Asia, largely from India and China, according to ICE data. 

Students can lose their F-1 visas if they fail to maintain a full course, engage in “unauthorized employment” provide false information to DHS. They can also lose their status if they were convicted of a “crime of violence” with a potential sentence of more than a year. 

Both students were arrested for minor misdemeanors, however their charges were dismissed by prosecutors, Green said. 

“The dismissed misdemeanor charge does not render plaintiff inadmissible to or deportable from the United States,” he wrote.

Green did not disclose the names of the students, nor where they are attending school arguing they each fear retaliation by the Trump administration for “asserting their rights through this lawsuit, and of harassment or blacklisting by third parties.” 

Both his clients are married. One to a U.S. citizen—the other to a fellow F-1 visa holder, and both have children who are U.S. citizens, Green wrote. 

In his lawsuit, Green named President Donald Trump, as well as John Cantu, the field office director for ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations, Todd Lyons, the director of ICE, and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

Green said State Department officials did not tell the student their visas were revoked. “In practical terms, however, whether or not plaintiff’s visa has been revoked makes little difference here.” 

Green noted that Homeland Security Secretary Noem praised the cancellation of the F-1 visa for Ranjani Srinivasan, a Columbia student, writing “I’m glad to see one of the Columbia University terrorist sympathizers use the CBP Home app to self deport.” 

Srinivasan lost her SEVIS status on March 9, and she later fled the U.S. to Canada after Columbia de-enrolled her from her classes, the Columbia Spectator reported. Srinivasan was swept up by the New York Police Department during a crackdown on a pro-Gaza encampment at the university, though her charges—refusing to disperse and obstructing traffic—were dismissed. 

As Green wrote, “misdemeanor offenses do not meet the threshold for termination based on criminal history.” 

Nonetheless, Green argued the students he filed suit for have both stayed in full compliance with their visa requirements and “has not engaged in any conduct that would warrant termination of their status.” 

And, he noted that a SEVIS record “may not be terminated as a result of a visa revocation after a student has been admitted into the U.S., because the student is permitted to continue the authorized course of study.” 

“If ICE believes a student is deportable for having a revoked visa or any other reason, it has the authority to initiate removal proceedings and make its case in court,” Green wrote. “It cannot, however, misuse SEVIS to circumvent the law, strip students of status, and drive them out of the country without process.” 

Green also told the court ICE has arrested students after their visas were revoked and quickly moved them to detention facilities in Louisiana “before or the day of their bond hearing in immigration court.” So, he asked the court to protect his clients against “retaliatory arrests and transfers” designed to “further intimidate students into abandoning their studies and fleeing the country to avoid arrest.” 

U.S. District Judge James Soto is reviewing one case, while the second was given to U.S. District Judge Jennifer Zipps. 

Soto granted a temporary restraining order in “light of the exigent circumstances” and sad he wanted to “preserve the status quo” until the court could hold another hearing on April 29. 

However, Zipps refused to rule on the emergency motion before federal officials had a chance to respond Tuesday. She scheduled a Thursday hearing to review the restraining order and whether to grant a motion to allow the case to move forward with pseudonyms. 

“If, before the scheduled hearing, plaintiff becomes aware of any actions that might seriously affect the need for emergency relief—e.g., the initiation of removal proceedings against plaintiff or their possible arrest, detention, or transfer—they should contact the court’s chambers immediately,” Zipps wrote.