NEW HAVEN — A temporary restraining order was granted today in the case of Du v. Dep't. of Homeland Security.
The ACLU Foundation of Connecticut filed the lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security and two of its top officials on April 24, 2025, for unlawfully terminating university students’ status records in the electronic system used to administer foreign students (Student and Exchange Visitor Information System or SEVIS). The lawsuit details how the unlawful termination of F-1 student visa status violates the Administrative Procedures Act and the Due Process Clause of the Constitution.
A federal judge issued an order of jurisdictional protection on the evening of April 24, 2025. The outcome of the order means that DHS cannot remove from Connecticut those international students whose SEVIS records remain terminated. While some students might have their status reinstated due to the Trump administration’s reversal of terminations on the same day, there are students in the state whose F-1 status has not been reinstated as of 7:00 pm on April 25, 2025. Those students are safe from harmful actions by DHS, and will remain free from the threat of deportation for termination of their SEVIS records.
The temporary restraining order makes the federal reinstatement of the named plaintiffs mandatory.
“In addition to our previous ruling and the federal government’s reversal, this TRO further protects these hardworking students from being targeted by the federal government,” said ACLU Foundation of Connecticut legal director Dan Barrett. “Students are in class now, with some about to graduate, and this TRO makes DHS’s reinstatement of status for the named plaintiffs mandatory and until-further-notice. The ACLU Foundation of Connecticut will continue to represent all international students in Connecticut whose status records were terminated until the entire putative class is restored.”
More information here.
