ATLANTA — International students from colleges across the country, including several here in Georgia, have filed a lawsuit against the government after learning that their visas were being terminated.
The filing claims the government violated their Fifth Amendment rights to due process and asks the court for a temporary restraining order to reinstate their legal status.
It names Attorney General Pam Bondi, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, and Acting Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Todd Lyons as defendants in the case.
A total of 17 students from across the country have joined as plaintiffs in the suit.
Students involved in the suit here in Georgia attend Georgia Tech, the University of Georgia, Emory, and Kennesaw State universities.
With their visas now terminated, that means students can be detained by immigration authorities.
The lawsuit complaint says visas were terminated without notice and without providing the students with an opportunity to respond.
“At the most elemental level, the United States Constitution requires notice and a meaningful opportunity to be heard,” the complaint reads.
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As of Friday, more than 500 visas had been revoked nationwide for students at 88 colleges and universities as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to carry out mass deportations.
The U.S. State Department is manually terminating records in the Student and Exchange Visitor program.
It has not informed most of the universities or students about their visa cancellations. Universities discovered the visa revocations by checking the system.
Channel 2’s Courtney Francisco reported on the visa terminations last week on WSB Tonight, where she spoke with Javeria Jamil, The Legal Director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
She said some of those students impacted are undergraduate students, others are in their masters, Ph.D., or professional training programs.
“There’s mostly a lot of fear right now, and there also a lot of uncertainty on what, if anything, they can do to protect themselves to make sure that they can continue their education,” Jamil said.
She’s been warning students this could happen as the Trump Administration condemned pro-Palestinian demonstrations at universities nationwide.
CAIR Georgia said some of the students they’re working with were not involved in any protests.
“So, it was unclear why their visas are being revoked. Except for, perhaps, a minor traffic violation like speeding,” Jamil said.
Francisco also spoke with The Chairman of the Georgia Association of College Republicans, Emanuel Hernaiz, who supports the visa revocations.
“It’s a privilege to study in our grade schools, and, you know, many people fight for those student visas, and if you’re going to use that privilege to go against the interest of America, well, we should give those opportunities to people who actually want to support the county,” Hernaiz said. “Free speech is OK, but we shouldn’t allow violence and terrorist supporters to have those student visas.”
As for the lawsuit, a hearing over the temporary restraining order has been scheduled for Thursday morning.
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