Foreign Students in Montana Ask Federal Court to Protect Them from Deportation

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Two graduate students at Montana State University are asking a federal court to stop the Trump administration and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security from terminating their foreign student status, which could allow officials to immediately deport them.

Officials with Montana’s largest public universities last week announced that four foreign students had their F-1 visas revoked and their F-1 statuses cancelled, meaning they could be subject to immediate deportation. Their cases mirrored hundreds of other cases across the United States.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Montana filed the motion in court on Monday on behalf of two of the four students, who are anonymous in court filings. Laywers said that both students were sent identical form letters which said their status had been revoked because of criminal status, although neither has been convicted or charged with any crime, leading to confusion and panic.

The identity and status of the other two students mentioned by MSU are not publicly known.

The Department of Homeland Security has not just revoked the F-1 visa, which is a document that allows a student entry into the United States, it has apparently wiped out their F-1 status, which allows a student to remain lawfully and allows them to be employed in certain jobs, like teaching assistant positions or research. By cancelling the status, the lawsuit argues, the Trump administration has made it impossible for the students to keep employment or be paid.

The lawsuit also points out that cancelling an F-1 visa is not necessarily cause to revoke the student’s entire status. The ACLU of Montana says the actions of the Trump administration violate the U.S. Constitution’s guarantee of due process, which extends to residents who are not U.S. citizens, but still lawfully in the country, like the students.

According to court documents, neither student has been convicted of a crime, and neither student has participated in protests or demonstrations.

The court documents also shed light into the inner workings of the moves by the Trump officials to boot foreign-born students. For example, officials did not appear to give either the students or the universities any advance warning. The four students in Montana learned of the changed status after officials with the university system were doing a routine check of the database on April 10.

It is unknown when the change was made, and the lawsuit said the university system officials have had no communication explaining the status change. However, with both the F-1 visa and the F-1 status being changed, the court filing said there’s little to stop an immediate deportation, and officials worry about due process rights being protected.

“This policy appears to be primarily targeting African, Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslim and Asian students,” the court brief said.

The court filings say that both students fear that years of work and research could be abruptly ended with the decision.

The ACLU has asked for “emergency relief” for the two unnamed students so that they couldn’t be immediately deported, and to have their status restored. Moreover, the lawsuit asks federal court Judge Dana Christensen to prohibit the administration from arresting, detaining or transferring the students from beyond the Montana federal court’s jurisdiction without providing adequate notice to contest any action.

Students who come to the U.S. under an F-1 status must maintain a full course of study, and have limited options for income, usually related to that field of study. One of the MSU students is a doctoral student in electrical engineering and physics, with a completion date around December, 2025.

“He has never been convicted of a crime in the United States or elsewhere,” the court filing said. “He does not understand why his visa was revoked and his (foreign student) record was terminated. Neither the government nor MSU has provided any additional details or explanation for the change in (his) status or the revocation of his F-1 visa.”

In addition to placing his entire doctorate in jeopardy, the student’s sister is a graduate student at the University of Colorado. He financially supports her, and according to the lawsuit, the sudden status change has threatened both of their ability to support themselves.

The second graduate student from MSU is studying microbiology, and she has never been convicted of a crime in Montana or her native country.

“This has placed her in an extremely difficult financial and academic position, as her teaching assistantship is not only her only source of income, but also a core component of her master’s training,” the suit said.

In addition to violating the Administrative Procedures Act, the lawsuit said, terminating their status already violated the guarantees of the U.S. Constitution.

“Plaintiffs were not afforded the most basic of notice nor opportunity to heard that was owed to them before having their F-1 student status terminated,” the lawsuit said. “The letter did not include any further information as to why (their) F-1 status had been revoked, or how they might seek further information about their specific situations, or even of any available procedures they could follow to challenge the termination.”

The court filing also says that without the federal court taking immediate, emergency action, the students will continue to be at risk, not just of deportation and financial hardship, but that they will have their study interrupted unfairly.

“(Their) due process rights are being impaired,” the court filing said. “(They) face the imminent risk — indeed, likelihood — that they will be unable to complete their graduate studies, that they will be unable to earn an income, and support their families,” the suit said. “(They) also current face the serious risk of immediate arrest and detention for deportation because they no longer have lawful status to remain in the United States.”

Daily Montanan is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Daily Montanan maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Darrell Ehrlick for questions: info@dailymontanan.com.

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