The federal government has issued its first explanation following an ACLU lawsuit concerning two international students at Montana State University whose visas were canceled by the Department of Homeland Security. A legal motion submitted this week provides insight into the termination of their Student Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) accounts. The government contends that the students, identified as John Roe and Jane Doe, have prior arrests, although no details on the outcomes were given.
Filed on April 21 in the U.S. District Court in Butte, the response challenges the ACLU of Montana’s claim that the students had no criminal convictions. Roe and Doe, the government argues, were arrested in Bozeman for theft and partner or family member assault, respectively. Despite these claims, federal lawyers assert that terminating their SEVIS accounts doesn’t equal revoking their F-1 visas, assuring that deportation is not imminent. They have requested Judge Dana Christensen to lift the temporary restraining order issued on April 15 that currently prevents further actions against the students.
“Besides the alleged SEVIS account termination, plaintiffs neither allege nor establish that [U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement] has instituted any other action to revoke their F-1 statuses or remove them from the United States,” wrote U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme.
Nationally, the situation for the MSU students is part of a larger context, as over 1,500 international student visas were canceled, prompting the Trump administration to announce a halt on further revocations until a new visa review system is in place. The impact on lawsuits nationwide remains uncertain. In Montana, the ACLU’s case will have its initial hearing on April 29. ACLU Legal Director Alex Rate remarked in a statement, “Nothing in the government’s response changes the fact that they arbitrarily and without notice interfered with our clients’ abilities to complete their studies at MSU. The Trump Administration’s actions are terrorizing students across the country and have no legal basis.”
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