UI students identify themselves in case against Homeland Security

Four current or former international students from the University of Iowa have decided to publicly identify themselves and pursue their lawsuit against the federal government for revoking their status as students.

The federal lawsuit was initially filed last month by a UI College of Law professor on behalf of the four, who were identified in court records only as John Doe No. 1 through 4.

Named as defendants in the case are Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, of which Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, is a part. Also named as a defendant is Acting Director of ICE Todd Lyons.

After a judge entered a temporary restraining order blocking Homeland Security from detaining or deporting the plaintiffs, attorneys for the students identified the four to Homeland Security for the purpose of complying with the court’s order.

Earlier this week, the judge ruled that in order for the plaintiffs to proceed with their case they would have to publicly identify themselves as is customary with litigants in civil cases.

In newly filed court papers, the four students are now identified as:

— Sri Chaitanya Krishna Akondy, who is an Indian national, a master of public health graduate of the University of Iowa, and a practicing epidemiologist working for the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services.

“My daily responsibilities include analyzing data related to substance use and overdose deaths using statistical methods, which helps in shaping public health responses and policies,” Akondy told the university’s news service in 2024. “My education at Iowa was vital in preparing me for my role in public health. The university enabled me to undertake internships across Iowa, including at Lakeside Lab in Okoboji, and Linn County Public Health in Cedar Rapids, providing a broad view of public health challenges and solutions within the state.”

Akondy’s only interaction with law enforcement is alleged to be an arrest for drunken driving that was later expunged from court records.

— Prasoon Kumar, who is an Indian national and resides in Iowa City, is a fourth-year Ph.D. student studying chemical engineering. He first came to the United States on an F-1 visa in 2021. The lawsuit alleges his only criminal history is a speeding ticket and a misdemeanor conviction for drunken driving.

— Songli Cai, who is a Chinese national and third-year undergraduate student living in Tiffin. His only interactions with law enforcement are alleged to be for speeding, driving without a valid driver’s license and a disorderly conduct conviction.

— Haoran Yang, who is a Chinese national living in Iowa City and is both a third-year undergraduate and pre-doctorate student at the university. The lawsuit indicates he has been convicted of first-offense drunken driving, and has two speeding citations, one failure-to-yield citation, and one citation for driving without a valid driver’s license.

Students await ruling on injunction

According to their lawsuit, each of the plaintiffs was admitted to the United States on an F-1 student visa.

The lawsuit alleges that on April 10, 2025, ICE abruptly canceled, without explanation, the plaintiffs’ status as students within DHS’ Student and Exchange Visitor Information Systems database. The same day, the plaintiffs each received emails from the University of Iowa’s International Students and Scholars Services informing them of the cancellation and the fact that the university was not responsible for the action.

Four days later, the lawsuit claims, three of the plaintiffs’ visas were revoked without explanation. The three each received identical messages from U.S. embassies, warning them that “remaining in the United States can result in fines, detention, and/or deportation,” and adding that “deportation can take place at a time that does not allow the person being deported to secure possessions or conclude affairs in the United States. Persons being deported may be sent to countries other than their countries of origin.”

Since beginning their studies, the lawsuit claims, the plaintiffs have maintained their status as students, are in good academic standing and have not committed any serious criminal offenses.

The lawsuit alleges that Homeland Security has initiated a national policy of “coercing international students into self-deportation by leveraging ambiguous student-status revocations, coupled with visa revocation notices and threatening language.” The students also allege that Homeland Security’s “lack of transparency and procedural safeguards created chaos within educational institutions and upended the lives of lawful F-1 visa holders.”

The lawsuit emphasizes that the plaintiffs are not challenging the revocation of their F-1 student visas but are instead challenging DHS’ termination of their student status to create a “pretext for future adverse immigration actions against them.”

The judge in the case has yet to rule on the students’ motion to convert the short-term temporary restraining order to a preliminary injunction that would be in force until the case is resolved.