Indian student sues Trump administration over deportation threat

An Indian student and three others have sued the Donald Trump administration over possible deportation from the US after their student immigration status was terminated this month. Through the lawsuit, the students have sought to regain their legal status in the US, PTI reported.

The development comes at a time when the Trump administration has started revoking visas of international students over alleged campus activism. Hundreds of students, including Indians, have received emails asking them to self-deport. Students accused of minor criminal offences like shoplifting or traffic violations are also being targeted.

WHAT IS THE CASE?

India’s Chinmay Deore, who studies at Wayne State University, two students from China and one from Nepal filed the lawsuit against Homeland Security and immigration officials.

They have alleged that their student immigration status in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) was “illegally terminated” without any notice or explanation.

The SEVIS database contains information about non-immigrant students in the US.

The development means the students no longer have legal status in the US, and would have to leave the country immediately.

The lawsuit, filed in the US District Court Eastern District of Michigan, was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on behalf of the students.

Asking the court to reinstate their legal status, the students said neither were they charged with any crime, nor did they violate any immigration law. The students said they were also not active in on-campus protests regarding any political issue.

“At most, what seems to connect the students is that they had some encounter with some American law enforcement official at some point in the past, no matter how innocuous — including receiving a speeding or parking ticket (or even a warning) or lawfully withdrawing an application to enter the US,” the complaint said.

‘AIM IS TO SOW CHAOS AND FEAR’

Loren Khogali, executive director of the ACLU of Michigan, said the Trump administration was acting as if basic constitutional requirements don’t apply to them, according to a report in the Detroit Free Press.

“The aim of this administration is to sow chaos and fear by attacking some people to terrorise us all… They are now coming for international students who provide critical perspectives and contributions to our academic communities and, through their spending, make a major contribution to our economy,” Khogali said.

The development comes days after a US judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration from deporting a 21-year-old Indian undergraduate, Krish Lal Isserdasani, whose student visa was cancelled. Krish is set to graduate in May.