Judge says UW-Madison international student with terminated visa can't be deported for now

Yahoo

15-04-2025

(This story has been updated with new information.)
A federal judge barred the government from taking any action against a University of Wisconsin-Madison engineering student from India, delivering a temporary blow to the Trump administration's sweeping campaign to revoke international student visas.
The April 15 order prevents the Department of Homeland Security from revoking the visa or detaining Krish Lal Isserdasani, 21, who was expected to graduate with a bachelor's degree in computer engineering in early May.
The request for a temporary restraining order was brought by Madison attorney Shabnam Lotfi after Isserdasani's record was terminated in the government's Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVIS) database.
More: How many international students at Wisconsin universities have had visas revoked?
"He was given no warning, no opportunity to explain or depend himself, and no chance to correct any potential misunderstanding before his F-1 student visa record was terminated in SEVIS," the order said.
Judge William Conley of the Western District of Wisconsin handed down the order, saying Isserdasani was not convicted of a crime, and his claim of wrongful visa termination had a "reasonable likelihood of success" in the courts. He set a preliminary injunction hearing for April 28.
The order is believed to be one of the first victories nationally for international student visa holders whose records were terminated, according to Lotfi. Hundreds of students have seen their SEVIS records terminated abruptly,
"The judge heard us," Lotfi said moments after the order came down.
According to the order, Isserdasani was arrested Nov. 22, 2024, for misdemeanor disorderly conduct after he and his friends got into an argument with another group of people after leaving a bar. Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne declined to charge Isserdasani in the case, and he never appeared in court, the order said.
Isserdasani "believed the matter was completely resolved with no possible immigration consequences," the order said, and he had no other interactions with law enforcement.
UW-Madison staff in the International Student Services office informed Isserdasani by email that his record had been terminated, according to the order. The reason listed was: "Individual identified in criminal records check and/or has had their VISA revoked. SEVIS record has been terminated."
The termination would prevent Isserdasani from completing his degree and applying for a program that would allow him to work while remaining on his student visa, the order said. Isserdasani and his family have spent about $240,000 on his education in the U.S., and he stands to lose $17,500 in tuition for this semester, according to the order.
The termination of the students' records in the SEVIS database means they have lost their legal status in the U.S. and they must either leave the country immediately or take legal action to try to stay.
"He reports being afraid to leave his apartment for fear of being apprehended at any moment," the order said.
The order also weighed in on the visa termination of Hamidreza Khademi, 34, of Iran. He graduated with a master's degree in architecture from Iowa State University in 2023 and had been working on an employment extension of his student visa overseeing infrastructure projects at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.
Khademi was arrested in February 2024 after an officer tried to pull him over, saying Khademi didn't use his turn signal while changing lanes, according to the order. Khademi said he did not know the officer wanted him to stop.
The Texas Department of Public Safety determined there was no violation, according to the order. No charges were filed. Khademi had no other other interactions with law enforcement.
An email from Iowa State on April 10 informed him of the visa termination. It cited the same reason as Isserdasani's and said his employment permit ended immediately.
The loss of his salary has created a 'catastrophic financial hardship' for his family, the order said. His wife, pregnant with their first child, is due this summer.
In the order, Conley questioned whether Khademi's claim was filed in the right court, because he seemed to have no ties to the court's jurisdiction of western Wisconsin. He declined to rule on the motion for a temporary restraining order for Khademi, asking both parties to file additional briefs by April 16.
Khademi's attorney, Lotfi, has a history of challenging the Trump administration. During Trump's first term, she was part of a class-action lawsuit related to the so-called Muslim travel ban. A judge in 2024 ruled that certain people from several Muslim-majority countries whose visa applications were denied during the first Trump administration could submit new visa applications.
The visa terminations are among at least 57 at Wisconsin colleges and universities as of April 15. The terminations include current students as well as alumni who were legally working on their student visas after graduation.
The State Department has offered little insight into how and why specific students were selected for visa termination. Officials at UW-Madison and UW-Milwaukee said they did not believe the terminations at their schools were related to free speech or protests. Some other students nationally have been targeted for their participation in pro-Palestinian protests last year.
"We don't go into the rationale for what happens with individual visas," State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said last week at a news conference. "What we can tell you is that the department revokes visas every day in order to secure our borders and to keep our community safe, and we'll continue to do so."
Nationally, a number of student visas have been terminated for no apparent reason or for minor violations, such as speeding tickets, that previously would not warrant such a serious consequence, according to lawsuits filed by students in other states.
The Presidents' Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration, which represents more than 570 public and private colleges and universities across the country, said recent revocations appeared to lack cause and raised concerns about fairness and due process.
"The government's actions and rhetoric create an atmosphere of fear, threaten academic freedom, chill free expression, and jeopardize the well-being of noncitizen members of our campus communities," the organization said in a statement.
This story will be updated.
Contact Kelly Meyerhofer at [e-mail] or 414-223-5168. Follow her on X (Twitter) at @KellyMeyerhofer.
Sophie Carson is a general assignment reporter who reports on religion and faith, immigrants and refugees and more. Contact her at [e-mail] or 920-323-5758.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: University of Wisconsin student wins temporary visa protection