ACLU-WV sues Trump administration officials over Marshall student’s revoked visa

The American Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia has filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of a Marshall University graduate student whose visa was “unlawfully” revoked as a part of an immigration crackdown by President Donald Trump’s administration. 

More than 1,000 international students at 160 colleges and universities across the country have had their visas revoked or their legal status terminated since March, according to a report by the Associated Press.  That includes students at colleges and universities in West Virginia. 

The Marshall student, identified in a Friday news release as S.V., was one month away from graduating when his visa was revoked, according to the ACLU-WV. The student received an email stating that his F-1 visa was being revoked and later learned that he was “identified in a criminal records check,” the news release said.

S.V., 28-year-old data science student originally from India, was sentenced to probation in 2020 in Indiana for operating a vehicle under the influence, a misdemeanor, according to the release. He left the United States and returned in 2023 to study at Marshall. 

ACLU-WV legal director Aubrey Sparks said that having been identified in a criminal record check is not legal ground for terminating a visa.  

“Our client was not convicted of a crime of violence, nor was he convicted of a crime for which the potential sentence is more than one year, meaning that he categorically is not subject to termination of his F-1 status on those grounds,” Sparks said. 

According to the ACLU, S.V. disclosed the previous charge when re-applying, satisfied all requirements, and was permitted to re-enter the country under the new visa. The student was  in the process of applying for post-graduate work in the United States when he received the  email ending his visa.  

The situation caused chaos for his education and career plans, he said. 

“I desperately want to complete my graduate degree and pursue work in the United States,” he  said in the news release. “It is clear this wasn’t a decision based on my circumstance or experience — this was a predetermined outcome and they just said whatever needed to be said to justify it, even when it  didn’t apply to me.” 

The ACLU-WV filed the lawsuit Friday in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia. The complaint names Kristi Noem, secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Todd Lyons, acting director of the U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement, and U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi. 

Across the country,  lawsuits have been filed and rallies held in response to the student visas being revoked. 

Government officials have not specified the reasons the administration has canceled visas, but U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said last month that participating in protests against Israel’s war in Gaza will not be tolerated.

“They’re here to go to class. They’re not here to lead activist movements that are disruptive and undermine our universities. I think it’s lunacy to continue to allow that,” Rubio said. 

In the news release, ACLU-WV executive director Eli Baumwell said international students and scholars are a vital part of the nation’s universities, economy and communities.

“Unfortunately, it has become increasingly clear that the Trump administration is simply taking the law into its own hands in its crusade against noncitizens,” he said. “Never before has a president taken such sweeping actions to revoke student visas, and that’s why we need the courts to step in and protect their rights to due process under the Constitution.”