International students in Colorado sue over loss of immigration status

Three international students attending college in Colorado whose visas have been revoked by the Trump administration are suing the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, alleging the termination of their immigration status was unlawful and without due process.

The lawsuits were filed this week in U.S. District Court in Denver on behalf of three plaintiffs identified only as “Student Doe” due to fear of retaliation. Each is from an unspecified Asian country, according to the complaints. Their schools aren’t identified, but the lawsuits say the students are from Denver, Fort Collins and Colorado Springs.

The students were each notified that their records in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System were terminated, according to the lawsuits. SEVIS is a government database that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement uses to track international students’ compliance with their F-1 visas and their immigration status.

In each case, the reason for termination was listed as: “OTHER — Individual identified in criminal records check and/or has had their VISA revoked.” Each of the students has minor criminal infractions on their record, but has not been subjected to removal proceedings, according to the lawsuits

Aurora-based immigration attorney Zachary R. New, who is representing all three plaintiffs, said it is “not at all normal” for international students’ immigration status to be terminated for minor crimes.

“For F-1 students, the only crime that can result in the determination that they failed to maintain their status is a crime of violence for which the punishment is a term of imprisonment that could exceed one year,” New said Thursday. “For any other criminal offense, if they’re going to remove them, they have to go through a different process, putting them into immigration proceedings where their case would be heard before an immigration judge.”

At least 38 international students at Colorado universities have seen their visas revoked by the Trump administration in recent weeks.

As of Thursday, University of Colorado officials said they were aware of 22 student-visa revocations across their campuses in Boulder, Denver, Aurora and Colorado Springs. Colorado State University officials said 16 of their students have had visas revoked.

Nationwide, at least 1,024 students at 160 colleges, universities and university systems have had their visas revoked or their legal status terminated since late March, according to an Associated Press review of university statements, correspondence with school officials and court records. Advocacy groups collecting reports from colleges say hundreds more students could be caught up in the crackdown.

“At CU, we are focused on supporting the success of all of our students, including international students,” University of Colorado officials said in a statement Thursday. “Each one of our students is seeking to advance their career and the lives of their family, and we understand the anxieties that visa revocations cause to impacted students.”

The Trump administration has targeted students nationwide who had been involved with pro-Palestinian activism or speech, with a few high-profile detentions of students, including Mahmoud Khalil, a green-card holder who was a leader of protests at Columbia University.

The Student Doe in Colorado Springs has been studying in the United States for “several years” and has not “engaged in any significant political activity,” according to their lawsuit. In late March, the student’s college told them their SEVIS status had been terminated, according to their lawsuit.

“The termination of a SEVIS record effectively ends F-1 student status,” the lawsuit said. “Even when a visa is revoked, however, ICE is not authorized to terminate Plaintiff’s student status.”

The student was in full compliance with the terms of their F-1 visa and had not engaged in conduct that would warrant termination of their status, the lawsuit said.

The student’s only criminal history was an arrest years ago for possession of alcohol and marijuana as a minor. After the plaintiff’s conviction, they obtained a new visa and were cleared by both the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security to reenter the country, according to the lawsuit.

“Since they have received notice of their SEVIS termination, Plaintiff and their family have been experiencing high levels of stress and anxiety,” the lawsuit said. “They are unsure of what will happen to them. They also fear being placed in removal proceedings and deported from the United States for what appears to be an erroneous termination of their SEVIS record, and what consequences such actions would have on their ability to re-enter the United States in the future.”