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The ACLU of Indiana has filed a lawsuit against the heads of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, alleging the federal agencies unlawfully terminated the legal status of seven international students enrolled at Indiana universities.
The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Indianapolis on behalf of students Jelena Liu, Nina Hu, Junde Zhu, Xiaotian Yu, Xilai Dai, Zhaorui Ni, and Jideofor Odoeze.
Liu is a graduate student at Indiana University Indianapolis. Zhu, Yu, Dai, Ni and Hu study at Purdue University, while Odoeze is a doctoral student at Notre Dame.
“There is no rhyme or reason for DHS’s action. 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.” ACLU of Indiana Legal Director Ken Falk said in a news release. “The impact on these students’ lives is profound, and now they live in fear of being deported at any moment. We’re calling on the court to take immediate steps to stop these unlawful actions.”
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons are named as defendants in the suit.
Neither agency immediately responded to The Indiana Lawyer’s request for comment.
According to the ACLU, the lawsuit asks the district court to allow the plaintiffs to continue their studies by reinstating their international student status.
The suit alleges that, because the students were offered no opportunity to contest the decision, DHS violated their Fifth Amendment due process rights.
It also alleges that DHS’s actions are contrary to federal law and the U.S. Constitution and violate the Administrative Procedure Act.
A temporary restraining order has been requested to provide immediate protection to the students.
The plaintiffs are studying in the U.S. on F-1 visas. The lawsuit alleges that DHS “unilaterally terminated the F-1 student status of numerous students throughout the United States, including the plaintiffs, stripping them of their ability to remain in the United States as students. No process was provided to challenge the terminations.”
The lawsuit further states that the F-1 visa controls the students’ entry into the U.S., not their continued lawful presence once admitted, and that the plaintiffs were in full compliance with the terms of their F-1 status and had not engaged in any conduct to justify termination.
The case is Jelena Liu, Nina Hu, Junde Zhu, Xiaotian Yu, Xilai Dai, Zhaorui N, Jideofor Odoeze v. Kristi Noem, et.al., 1:25-cv-716.
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