Judge in Detroit hears arguments in suit over international student visa revocations

Charles E. Ramirez, The Detroit News on Apr 15, 2025

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DETROIT — A federal judge in Detroit heard arguments Tuesday for a placing restraining order against the Trump administration's termination of four Michigan university students' immigration status.

The hearing came about five days after the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan said it was suing the administration to reinstate the students' immigration status after it was abruptly ended.

Detroit U.S. District Court Judge Stephen J. Murphy III said after the hearing he would issue a written opinion on the matter.

"I will take your motions under advisement," he said. "And I understand the clock is ticking."

Murphy heard arguments from Ramis Wadood, the ACLU of Michigan's senior staff attorney, and Zak Toomey, an assistant U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, during the nearly hour-long hearing. About two dozen people filled the courtroom's gallery to watch the hearing.

Wadood argued the government not only failed to provide the students or the school with the U.S. Department of State's reasons for revoking their visas, it didn't even notify the students it was revoking their visas. Instead, he said, the schools learned the visas were revoked by checking a federal database, and they then informed their students about their status.

"It violates this country's laws for due process," Wadood said. "And now these student are in the process of packing their bags to go home because they don't know if they can enroll in classes and they can't work, so their paychecks are cut off. We're seeking a (temporary restraining order) to settle the dust on this chaos."

Wadood said his clients need the order while attorneys work to obtain a preliminary injunction to reinstate the students and to keep the government from starting potential immigration removal proceedings against them.

Meanwhile, Toomey said the State Department has discretion on whose visas it revokes and why. He argued that a temporary restraining order would overturn the current status quo.

"(The government) has no intention at this point to have the removed from the country," he said. "And they're allowed to continue taking classes until they leave. The Department of Homeland Security has not asked either UM or Wayne State to dis-enroll these students."

Toomey added that the universities have caused these students this hardship and not the Department of State.

About 450 students and recent graduates at about 100 universities across the country have recently had their legal status changed by the U.S. State Department, according to reports. Wadood said he estimates the number to be in the thousands.

Several international students who have had their visas revoked in recent weeks have filed lawsuits against the Trump administration, arguing the government denied them due process when it suddenly took away their permission to be in the U.S.

In Michigan, university officials at Wayne State, Central Michigan, Oakland University, Michigan State, University of Michigan and Grand Valley State have reported visa terminations among their international students.

Last week, UM said 22 students and recent graduates had their visas or permission to stay in the United States revoked, officials said.

In its lawsuit, the ACLU names Chinmay Deore, 21, of India; Yogesh Joshi, 32, of Nepal; Xiangyun Bu, 25, of China; and Qiuyi Yang, 26, also of China, as plaintiffs. The group said the four are among students who have had their status revoked.

Chinmay, one of the plaintiffs, has been seeking a bachelor’s degree in computer science at Wayne State University since August 2021. Yogesh has been pursuing a Ph.D. in anatomy and cell biology at Wayne State since August 2021; Xiangyun has been pursuing a master’s degree in mechanical engineering at the University of Michigan since August 2023; and Qiuyi has been pursuing a Ph.D. at the School for Environment and Sustainability at UM since August 2023, according to the lawsuit.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Acting Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Todd Lyons and Field Office Director of ICE's Detroit Field Office Robert Lynch are all named as defendants in the lawsuit.

The ACLU's lawsuit claims the Trump administration's termination of F-1 student status violates the students' due process rights because the government must provide advance notice and "a meaningful opportunity to respond when taking such action."

It also says specific legal grounds are required to terminate a student’s status.

"This administration continues to act as if the most basic constitutional requirements don’t apply to them," Loren Khogali, executive director of the ACLU of Michigan, said in a statement last week. "The right to due process is one of our most fundamental constitutional rights, requiring that a person receive sufficient notice to respond and challenge a government action.

"In this case, the Trump administration failed to provide any advance notification to students that they were stripping them of their student immigrant status and offered no viable opportunity to respond or challenge it. The aim of this administration is to sow chaos and fear by attacking some people to terrorize us all."