Suit Demands That Students’ Records Be Immediately Restored
NEW HAVEN — The ACLU Foundation of Connecticut filed a federal lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security and two of its top officials today, for unlawfully terminating university students’ status records in the electronic system used to administer foreign students (SEVIS). The suit, on behalf of four named plaintiffs and a proposed class of all affected Connecticut students, asks the U.S. District Court to reinstate their records on the system so that the students may resume their studies.
“These students have followed the rules,” explained ACLU Foundation of Connecticut senior staff attorney Elana Bildner, who represents the students, “and yet they’ve now been told that the law doesn’t mean anything to DHS.”
“The defendants marked these students as lacking lawful status in the authoritative system that’s used to track them,” said Dan Barrett, legal director of the ACLU Foundation of Connecticut. “Because they have been marked as terminated, their universities have barred them from going to class, working in their labs, working in their teaching assistant jobs, and other pursuits necessary to complete their degrees.”
“These are hard-working and highly accomplished students who have come here to study in cutting-edge fields,” explained ACLU Foundation of Connecticut staff attorney Jaclyn Blickley, who is co-counsel on the case. “They have invested significant time, effort, and money in their programs of study. Many of them are performing extremely advanced medical, scientific, or financial research. But one day DHS simply terminated their student status without even telling them, for reasons that are not permitted by law.”
The Connecticut students whose records have been marked as terminated have been considerably disrupted in their studies. With terminated F-1 statuses, the students are at risk of being detained and placed into removal proceedings. And, their universities have told them that they may not do critical things to progress in their programs, which itself will cause them to lose F-1 status. “It’s recursive,” said Bildner. “Once they start missing final exams, or can’t do the required bench work in their labs, their schools will have to report to DHS that they are not progressing towards completion of their programs, and that is a reason for them to lose status.”
Student status record terminations by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security have been occurring since at least March 1, 2025, and have impacted scores of international students throughout the United States. Inside Higher Ed estimates that, as of April 17, 2025, over 210 colleges and universities have identified 1,400-plus international students and recent graduates who have had their legal status changed. This includes 112 across New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Puerto Rico. In Connecticut, reports of more than 50 students statewide marked as terminated in the DHS system.
The lawsuit details how the unlawful termination of F-1 student visa status violates the Administrative Procedures Act and the Due Process Clause of the Constitution.
“International students should not be afraid of detention, deportation, or disappearance in this country,” said David McGuire, executive director. “The government’s actions are unjust, politically motivated, and out of line with regulatory standards and sidestep due process. The government’s actions are causing real harm that could follow these students for years. No one should live in fear that the Connecticut education they are working so hard to complete could be taken from them at any moment. The ACLU of Connecticut stands in solidarity with anyone being targeted by an administration that is disregarding the rule of law.”
In Connecticut, ACLU of Connecticut staff are active members of the Trust Act Now coalition, which seeks to shore up the Trust Act, the state’s immigration statute, by enhancing protections and providing legal recourse. Staff members also coalition with and provide guidance and solidarity to students, faculty, and staff at educational institutions statewide and nationwide with ACLU colleagues.
A link to the complaint is here.
A link to the case page, which will be updated as the case progresses, is here.
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