Nine more international students sue Trump Administration
Apr 24, 2025, 9:31 AM | Updated: 9:34 am
Nine more international students join Trump Administration lawsuit. April 18, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS
(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Nine more international students, both current and former, have filed a class-action lawsuit against the Trump administration, arguing that their legal immigration status in the U.S. was unfairly taken away.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Washington state, names DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons, bringing the total number of similar student plaintiffs to at least 15, according to The Seattle Times.
The class-action lawsuit represents both the named plaintiffs and others across the U.S. facing similar issues. To protect their privacy due to the stigma of alleged criminal activity, all plaintiffs are identified anonymously as “John Roe” or “Jane Roe,” the complaint said. The suit claims the government violated their due process rights and asks the court to invalidate the terminations.
Attorney Jay Gairson, representing the nine plaintiffs, believes there are likely more affected individuals who have not yet come forward. To date, at least 23 international students and recent graduates at the University of Washington have had their status revoked, with students from Washington State University, Central Washington University, and Seattle University also reportedly impacted.
Nine more students file lawsuit against Trump Administration
Under federal law, students may lose legal status if convicted of a violent crime punishable by more than one year in prison. That is not the case with any of the current plaintiffs.
A South Korean doctoral student at the University of Washington was fingerprinted in connection with a 2024 criminal charge, but he was acquitted by a jury, according to the Times. Another UW undergraduate student was arrested in 2022, but the charges were dismissed due to a lack of evidence. A Seattle Central College student faced a shoplifting charge that was dropped, while a high school student from King County had contact with law enforcement as a minor but was never charged, the Times reported.
Last week, Chief U.S. District Judge David Estudillo temporarily reinstated the legal status of one UW student, preventing ICE from detaining or deporting him. The same judge is expected to rule on three similar cases this week.
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