3 international students in Colorado sue Trump administration over termination 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Three international students attending college in Colorado whose visas have been revoked by the Trump administration are suing the U S Department of Homeland Shield alleging the termination of their immigration status was unlawful and without due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 Aspirant 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 Attendee and Exchange Visitor Information System were terminated according to the lawsuits SEVIS is a cabinet database that U S Immigration and Customs Enforcement uses to track international students compliance with their F- visas and their immigration status In each matter 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 disclosed it is not at all normal for international students immigration status to be terminated for minor crimes For F- students the only crime that can upshot 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 noted 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 affair would be heard before an immigration judge At least international students at Colorado universities have seen their visas revoked by the Trump administration in latest weeks As of Thursday University of Colorado functionaries revealed they were aware of student-visa revocations across their campuses in Boulder Denver Aurora and Colorado Springs Colorado State University representatives disclosed of their students have had visas revoked Nationwide at least students at 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 authorities 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 administrators commented in a message 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 limited high-profile detentions of students including Mahmoud Khalil a green-card holder who was a leader of protests at Columbia University The Attendee Doe in Colorado Springs has been studying in the United States for several years and has not engaged in any considerable political activity according to their lawsuit In late March the candidate s college notified them their SEVIS status had been terminated according to their lawsuit The termination of a SEVIS record effectively ends F- scholar status the lawsuit reported Even when a visa is revoked however ICE is not authorized to terminate Plaintiff s scholar status The trainee was in full compliance with the terms of their F- visa and had not engaged in conduct that would warrant termination of their status the lawsuit declared The participant 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 Protection 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 revealed 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 Related Articles Number of Colorado learner visas revoked by Trump administration more than doubles Trump administration revokes visas for at least international students at Colorado colleges CU Colorado Springs among universities under federal scrutiny as part of Trump s anti-DEI campaign Pro-Palestine demonstrators sue Auraria Campus police alleging last year s arrests violated First Amendment Colorado s immigrant first-generation youth need mental healthcare promotion in face of deportation push experts say The Denver plaintiff a graduate trainee learned from their college in early April that their SEVIS record had been terminated Their criminal history consists of running a red light resulting in a crash in which they had to pay a fine and a petty larceny offense that the plaintiff pleaded guilty to and for which the attendee was ordered to perform society system the lawsuit disclosed The larceny circumstance was dismissed and charges dropped after completing their sentence the lawsuit noted The third Novice Doe is an international participant living in Fort Collins who has been studying in the country for several years according to the lawsuit They learned of their SEVIS termination from their college in early April The lawsuit noted they had not engaged in vital political activity That novice s criminal history includes charges of driving under the influence and reckless driving in California The DUI charges were dismissed according to the lawsuit Last year the plaintiff entered a no-contest plea to one misdemeanor count and was placed on probation and completed a three-month DUI project New noted his clients want to have their immigration records restored so they can continue their studies and be protected from any retaliatory arrests The Associated Press contributed to this account Get more Colorado news by signing up for our Mile High Roundup email newsletter