The legal status of all plaintiffs named in the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana’s lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security have been restored, the organization said in a press release Tuesday.
The ACLU of Indiana announced April 15 it had filed a lawsuit against the DHS on behalf of seven international students who had their student F-1 legal statuses terminated. One student studied at IU Indianapolis, five attended Purdue and one was a student at the University of Notre Dame.
The revocation came as around 3,000 international students nationwide had their visas revoked or legal statuses terminated in recent months, including a small number at IU.
The suit claimed the DHS violated the students’ Fifth Amendment rights to due process by failing to allow students to challenge the termination of their statuses. It also alleged the plaintiffs were in compliance with their student status and had done nothing to warrant the cancellation.
The ACLU of Indiana requested a temporary restraining order from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana to protect the plaintiffs from the threat of deportation. It claimed that the plaintiffs would suffer irreparable harm if the order was denied.
On April 17, federal judge James Patrick Hanlon denied the request, stating that “Under Supreme Court precedent, ‘some possibility’ of deportation is not enough to show irreparable harm.” He said the plaintiffs did not present sufficient evidence they were detained or deported.
But on April 25, the Trump administration announced it would restore the student legal status to students who had their status terminated across the U.S., at least temporarily while Immigration and Customs Enforcement developed a new system for termination.
BBC reported in April that students who had their statuses revoked have filed over 100 lawsuits.
The ACLU of Indiana said plaintiffs recently received notice from their universities that their F-1 statuses were restored.
“The last few weeks have been incredibly difficult for these students,” Ken Falk, legal director of ACLU of Indiana, wrote in the press release. “We’re relieved that they once again have their student status. They deserve to continue their studies here in Indiana.”
The lawsuit is still ongoing “in order to address any open legal issues,” according to the press release.
