4 University of Michigan, Wayne State international students sue Homeland Security

• Students at Wayne State University and University of Michigan received notice last Friday through Tuesday that their student statuses had been revoked.
• The ACLU of Michigan filed a federal lawsuit on Thursday along with an emergency motion to address the statuses and keep the four from being detained or deported.
• One student has lived most his life in the country, per the lawsuit. Another was once arrested but never charged in a domestic dispute. None have been involved in campus protests.

Four international students at the University of Michigan and Wayne State University are suing to regain student status in the country and prevent deportation amid an immigration crackdown by the Trump administration.

The ACLU of Michigan on Thursday filed a lawsuit on behalf of the individuals from India, China and Nepal against Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court Eastern District of Michigan, also names Acting Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Todd Lyons and the Detroit field office director for ICE enforcement and removal operations, Robert Lynch, as defendants.

Loren Khogali, executive director of the ACLU of Michigan, said in a statement that the Trump administration is acting as if basic constitutional requirements don’t apply to them and did not afford the students due process to challenge the revocation of student statuses.

“The aim of this administration is to sow chaos and fear by attacking some people to terrorize us all,” Khogali said. “Now, they are 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.”

Representatives for the White House, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Department of State, and ICE did not immediately respond to requests for comment, but President Donald Trump was elected, in part, on a platform of being tougher on immigration.

Since taking office again, he has issued executive orders targeting foreign-born residents who “bear hostile attitudes” toward American “citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles” and, in the name of fighting antisemitism, such students who have protested against Israel’s war in Gaza.

Hundreds of student visas across the country have been canceled in recent days, and dozens of foreign students in Michigan have been told to leave.

Some of the cancellations nationally appear to be tied to minor disputes or off-campus tickets while others appear to be tied to pro-Palestinian protests, USA Today reports.

The four international scholars who filed the lawsuit in Michigan are not contesting visa statuses needed to enter the country — they have not been told by the state department that these have changed — but are contesting the cancellation of their status as students by the government, according to the lawsuit.

All four received notice from their universities between last Friday and Tuesday that their student status, as maintained in a national database, was terminated, the lawsuit states.

They now may be at risk of detention or deportation, according to the lawsuit.

At least one letter included in the lawsuit from Wayne State alerted a student to this concern. Letters in the lawsuit from the University of Michigan recommended their students make plans to leave the country immediately.

The national database indicated that the four were either identified in criminal record checks or had their visa revoked, but none have ever been charged or convicted of a crime, according to the lawsuit.

Additionally, none of the four have been involved with campus protests, according to the lawsuit.

Two have been attending Wayne State University and two have been attending the University of Michigan.

Chinmay Deore, 21, is a native of India but has lived in the U.S. most of his life, according to the lawsuit.

He came with his family to the U.S. in 2004 on a dependent visa, left in 2008, and then returned on a dependent visa in 2014, the lawsuit states. He graduated high school here, has been studying computer science as an undergraduate at Wayne State, lives with his family in Canton, and transitioned to a student status when he was aging out of his prior status.

He has gotten one speeding ticket and one parking ticket that he promptly paid, the lawsuit states.

Yogesh Joshi, 32, is a native of Nepal who lives in Detroit with his wife and 8-month-old child who is a U.S. citizen, according to the lawsuit.

He is a doctoral student studying anatomy and cell biology at Wayne State University and entered the U.S. on his visa in 2021, according to the lawsuit.

He was briefly arrested but never charged in a 2022 domestic dispute with his now-wife, and once got a parking ticket he promptly paid, the lawsuit states.

Xiangyun Bu, 25, is a native of China, lives in Ann Arbor and is set to graduate from the University of Michigan in May with a master’s degree in mechanical engineering, according to the lawsuit.

He has been admitted to a doctorate program at Carnegie Mellon University and has applied for summer employment as allowed under optional practical training for those with student statuses.

Bu entered the country in 2023 on his visa. He previously sought to come to the U.S. to visit his girlfriend for a semester on a visitor’s visa but withdrew the application when border patrol told him the length of time was not permitted, the lawsuit states. He has never gotten a parking ticket.

Qiuyi Yang, 26, is a native of China, lives in Ann Arbor, and is a doctoral student at the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability.

She entered the U.S. on her visa in 2021 to attend Cornell University and after earning her master’s degree, transferred her student status to U-M, according to the lawsuit. She has gotten a few parking tickets, which she has promptly paid.

Several of the students have lost jobs needed to support themselves and their families in wake of the student status change, according to the lawsuit.

The ACLU of Michigan argues that the termination of student statuses was unlawful, did not follow proper procedure, and was without valid cause or notice.  

The group has filed an emergency motion for a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction.