Three international students and one graduate from the University of Iowa settled their lawsuit with the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Dec. 5 after they sued DHS earlier this year for terminating their visas without explanation.
The international students received notice that their visas were terminated and that they would be deported back to their home countries if they did not leave voluntarily in April. A federal judge granted a temporary injunction in May that barred DHS and ICE from deporting the students until a final decision was reached in the case.
The case was part of a nationwide move by the Trump administration to deport “student criminal aliens” or international students charged with any crimes. More than 6,000 students nationwide were affected by the initiative, and thousands sued to block the move.
According to filings in the federal complaint, ICE officials terminated the students’ status after unlawful activity was found through the National Crime Information Center. The students had pleaded guilty to several nonviolent crimes, including driving without a valid license, disorderly conduct, and operating while intoxicated.
However, the law only permits terminations of student visas for violent crimes “for which a sentence of more than one year imprisonment may be imposed.”
On Dec. 5, the parties in the case were granted an order approving their settlement agreement that brings the case to a close.
Among the terms of the settlement agreement, DHS agreed to revert the students’ status in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, or SEVIS, to active after they were initially terminated.
The agreement also stipulates that ICE will not terminate their status based on the criminal charges already listed in the national database, but they maintain their authority to terminate their status “for other lawful reasons, such as if a student fails to maintain their nonimmigrant status after the record is reactivated or engages in other unlawful activity.”