Rhode Island ACLU and Others Sue Trump
GoLocalProv News Team
Rhode Island ACLU and Others Sue Trump
This includes a handful of students from Brown University and the Rhode Island School of Design who have had their student status revoked in the past few weeks. The lawsuit asks the court to reinstate their F-1 student status, which would allow them to continue their studies.
Four ACLU affiliates, including Rhode Island, and law firm Shaheen & Gordon filed the suit.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST“It’s disturbing that several international students studying here in Rhode Island, at both Brown University and RISD, have had their student status determinations revoked without explanation," said Steven Brown, Executive Director of the ACLU of Rhode Island, said. "The Trump Administration's actions against these students are a blatant violation of due process. We’re a part of this class-action suit to protect them and others who have had to suddenly leave their studies and face possible deportation for absolutely no legitimate reason."
The defendants in the Trump administration named in the lawsuit are the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and Acting Director of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Todd Lyons.
About Case
According to the lawsuit, these unilateral and unlawful terminations have severely disrupted the educational opportunities of these students who are in the middle of their studies (and in the middle of a semester) and who are simply trying to obtain, often at considerable expense, an education in the United States while following all the rules required of them. With terminated F-1 statuses, they are also now at dire risk of detention and deportation.
These terminations by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security have been occurring since at least March 1, 2025, and have impacted hundreds, if not thousands, of international students throughout the United States, said the ACLU.
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.
The lawsuit details how the unlawful termination of these students’ F-1 status violates their due process rights, as the government is required to provide advance notice and a meaningful opportunity to respond. Additionally, the lawsuit states that the government is required to have grounds in order to terminate a student status, and that the revocation of an F-1 visa is not sufficient grounds to terminate student status.
To terminate student status, the student, for example, must fail to take full courses of study, engage in unauthorized employment, or be convicted of a violent crime with a potential sentence of more than a year. For those who would be represented in this case, none of those situations exist.
View the case documents, go here.