The Asian American Scholar Forum (AASF) commends and supports a federal lawsuit filed against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, alleging Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) record terminations against four student plaintiffs and that “[t]hese terminations were issued without notice, hearing, or legal justification, in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”), the Fifth Amendment and the Equal Protection Clause to the U.S. Constitution, and longstanding agency policy.” This complaint follows widespread allegations that DHS has unlawfully terminated the SEVIS records of hundreds, possibly thousands, of international students on F-1 visas without due process.

The complaint outlines how students from top institutions—including UC Berkeley, Carnegie Mellon, University of Cincinnati, and Columbia—have been stripped of their legal status, education, housing, and work opportunities overnight. These terminations were issued without notice or justification and appear to target students of Chinese origin disproportionately, many of whom have no criminal records or only minor, dismissed incidents on file. This sweeping enforcement action defies established federal regulations, as confirmed by a recent court ruling in a similar case, and has left students and universities nationwide in turmoil.

“As of April 10, there have been almost 1,300 reports of international students and scholars either having their visa revoked and/or their record in SEVIS terminated. These are students in good academic standing—PhDs, architects, data scientists—who now face life-altering consequences without warning,” said Gisela Perez Kusakawa, Executive Director of the Asian American Scholar Forum. “We are concerned that hundreds across our country were not provided with appropriate due process. We fear the consequences will lead to both a human cost and a deterioration of our country’s principles and ability to compete on a global scale. This is an attack on American principles, innovation, and human dignity. These young people came here to learn and contribute. Now they’re being told they don’t belong, without explanation. We face losing the next generation of American talents.”