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Linkhith Babu Gorrela, Thanuj Kumar Gummadavelli and Manikanta Pasula, along with Chinese students Hangrui Zhang and Haoyang An, sued the administration for F-1 visa cancellations.
Over 1,000 student visas had been revoked amid Trump’s deportation campaign. (Reuters Image)
Three Indian students have teamed up with two Chinese students to sue the US Department of Homeland Security for terminating the F-1 visas of several international students, raising concerns of possible deportations.
The suit filed by several American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) affiliates seeks to represent more than 100 students in New England and Puerto Rico. “International students are a vital community in our state’s universities, and no administration should be allowed to circumvent the law to unilaterally strip students of status, disrupt their studies, and put them at risk of deportation,” said Gilles Bissonnette, legal director of the ACLU of New Hampshire.
The lawsuit accused the Donald Trump administration of “unilaterally terminating the F-1 student status of hundreds, if not thousands, of international students”. It said the students not only face the threat of deportation or visa cancellation but also “severe financial and academic hardship”.
Students have filed other lawsuits arguing they were denied due process. Federal judges have granted temporary restraining orders in New Hampshire, Wisconsin and Montana, shielding students from efforts to remove them from the US.
Who Are The Indian, Chinese Students?
Among the petitioners were Indian nationals Linkhith Babu Gorrela, Thanuj Kumar Gummadavelli and Manikanta Pasula, along with Chinese students Hangrui Zhang and Haoyang An. Gorrela is due to finish his degree on May 20, but cannot do so or participate in an additional training program without a valid F1 visa, according to DW News.
Gummadavelli and Pasula would have one more semester left before finishing their degree. Pasula was on the brink of getting his master’s in computer science at Rivier University in New Hampshire and applying to remain in the country through a work program for international students.
Moreover, Hangrui Zhang, who came to the US for a PhD program in electronic and computer science at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts, had his assistantship shut down due to the termination of his F-1 visa and may have to abandon his degree, despite investing $329,196 (Rs 2.81 crore).
As per the lawsuit, Pasula was arrested and charged with driving without a valid US license while holding an Indian driver’s license. As per New Hampshire laws, foreign students can use International Driving Permits for up to 60 days after arriving in the US, but Pasula’s arrest was within this period, according to a report by the Times of India.
Despite this, he paid a $248 fine before getting a valid US driver’s license, but he later received an email from Rivier University earlier this month informing him that the State Department revoked his visa. Gorrela and Gummadavelli were also charged with traffic misdemeanours.
Indian Students In Trump’s US
Amid Trump’s crackdown on immigration, several students at schools across the country have seen their visas revoked or their legal status terminated, typically with little notice. About 1,100 students at more than 170 colleges, universities and university systems have been affected since late March, according to an Associated Press report.
Indian and Chinese students make up a large chunk of international students in the United States, sharing over half a million between them. Despite good relations between the US and India, a recent report said that nearly half of all international students who had their visas revoked or terminated were Indians.
The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) highlighted concerns over what it calls an “arbitrary” and “opaque” enforcement effort targeting international students. The report also noted that 86% of students had some level of police interaction, but 33% of those were never charged, prosecuted, or were later dismissed.
Last month, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the State Department was revoking visas held by visitors who were acting counter to national interests, including some who protested Israel’s war in Gaza and those who face criminal charges. However, colleges say most students affected by visa revocations played no role in those protests.
(with AP inputs)
- Location :
Washington D.C., United States of America (USA)
