(Gallatin County, Mont.) -- Today the ACLU of Montana filed a complaint along with a request for a temporary restraining order/preliminary injunction in federal court on behalf of two Montana State University graduate students who had their F-1 student immigration status unlawfully and abruptly terminated by the Trump administration on April 10th with no notice or specified explanation as to why.
Despite no criminal convictions nor immigration violations and having never participated in any protest in the United States or elsewhere, these students were told that due to the termination of their student status, they are “expected to depart the United States immediately.” The lawsuit asks the Court to reinstate these students’ F-1 student status, allowing them to continue their studies and avoid facing the risk of detention and deportation.
The action against these students comes against the backdrop of federal immigration officials undertaking unprecedented nation-wide actions rescinding the legal status of hundreds of international students. Sadly, this federal immigration crackdown has now arrived in Montana.
These students are lawfully present in the United States pursuant to F-1 visas, which permit them to study at universities across the country. The Trump administration’s sudden revocation, without any notice or stated explanation, of student visas and status at universities across the country, including our clients here in Montana is appalling and the latest in a series of executive actions targeting immigrants and academic institutions.
As this lawsuit highlights, international students are vital contributors to 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. The lawsuit details how the termination of F-1 student status violates the students’ due process rights because the government is required to provide advance notice and a meaningful opportunity to respond when taking such action. Neither of which was afforded to Plaintiffs.
Both of these graduate students have been diligently pursuing their degrees at MSU for many years, while staying compliant with all of their visa requirements. Plaintiff Roe has been working on his Ph.D. in electrical engineering/physics for the past six years, while Plaintiff Doe has been working towards her master’s degree in microbiology for the past three and a half years. Both are only a matter of months away from obtaining their advanced degrees.
The termination of their student status means that they can no longer pursue their degree programs and are no longer authorized to work as research assistants. In addition to their education, research, and career trajectory being in severe jeopardy, they both face the unthinkable possibility of immediate detention and deportation.
To learn more about this case visit, please visit the case page for Roe v. Noem on our website.
