International students whose visas have been revoked are suing the Trump administration over an alleged violation of due process.
The Associated Press reported the students are arguing that the Trump administration lacked justification when canceling visas.
President Donald Trump has pursued a crackdown on immigration that initially focused on those in the U.S. illegally. However, several international students have been caught in the crosshairs as the administration argues their pro-Palestinian activism constitutes support for Hamas, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization. Meanwhile, other international students have reportedly had their visas revoked for past infractions such as traffic violations, according to the AP.
Students in at least 30 states have had their visas revoked, according to NBC News, which said the government is using a foreign policy statute from 1952 to justify the cancelations.
People walk through the gate on Harvard Yard on the Harvard University campus on June 29, 2023 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. (Getty Images)
DHS lists several circumstances under which the government may revoke a student visa, including absence from the U.S. for five months or longer, expulsion, unauthorized employment and failure to enroll, among others.
International students have been allowed to maintain their legal residency status and continue their studies even after having their visas revoked, according to the AP. In those cases, the lack of a visa only impacted their ability to travel in and out of the U.S. According to the AP, losing legal residency status is what ultimately puts students at risk of being deported.
Student protesters gather in protest inside their encampment on the Columbia University campus on Monday, April 29, 2024 in New York City. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)
Trump administration officials have defended the revocation of student visas, stating that the government reserves the right to cancel them.
“There is no right to a student visa. We can cancel a student visa under the law just the same way that we can deny a student visa under the law. And we will do so in cases we find appropriate,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters on March 28.
Fox News Digital reached out to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for comment on the lawsuits.
Fox News Digital’s Sarah Rumpf-Whitten and Brooke Taylor contributed to this report.
