The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Indiana filed a suit against the Trump administration on Tuesday, claiming that the lawful status of seven international students in Indiana were reportedly terminated without explanation.
The suit claims that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) did not offer the students any opportunity to challenge the decisions and therefore violated due process rights. The suit names DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and Todd Lyons, acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The Trump administration has targeted hundreds of international students in recent weeks for their engagement in anti-Israel protests, which the administration argued was support for U.S.-designated terrorist organization Hamas. The administration has also revoked visas for international students over past infractions such as traffic violations.
“There is no rhyme or reason for DHS’s action,” ACLU of Indiana Legal Director Ken Falk said. “To terminate an international student’s status, the U.S. government must adhere to regulatory standards and provide basic due process, which it has failed to do.”
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Plaintiffs claimed international students are allowed to continue their studies and maintain their legal residency status even after their visas get revoked.
The lawsuit asked the U.S. District Court to allow the seven international students to continue their studies by reinstating their status. A temporary restraining order has also been requested to provide immediate protection to the students, according to the ACLU of Indiana.
Among the students named in the lawsuit, six are Chinese citizens attending Purdue University or Indiana University Indianapolis. Another student is a Nigerian citizen attending the University of Notre Dame. Two of the seven students named were expected to graduate next month.
“The impact on these students’ lives is profound, and now they live in fear of being deported at any moment,” Falk continued. “We’re calling on the court to take immediate steps to stop these unlawful actions.”
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Fox News Digital reached out to the DHS for comment, but they did not immediately respond.
The lawsuit is one of the increasing number of complaints the White House is facing over student visa revocation.
Numerous international students whose visas were terminated without explanation recently also filed another suit against the Trump administration over an alleged violation of due process.
Trump administration officials have defended the revocation of student visas, claiming that the government reserves the right to cancel them.
“There is no right to a student visa,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters on March 28. “We can cancel a student visa under the law just the same way that we can deny a student visa under the law. And we will do so in cases we find appropriate,”
Fox News’ Rachel Wolf contributed to this report.
