A Joe Biden-appointed federal judge in Georgia has ordered President Donald Trump’s administration to reinstate the visas that were stripped from dozens of foreign students over their roles in fueling pro-Hamas protests on campus.
U.S. District Court Judge Victoria Calvert ordered the Trump administration to reinstate the legal status of 133 international students by 5 pm Tuesday.
Their F-1 student visas were terminated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
The students had their records terminated on Homeland Security’s SEVIS (Student and Exchange Visitor Information System).
They allege this was done without prior notice, proper explanation, or an opportunity to respond.
SEVIS is a database that DHS uses to monitor non-immigrant students.
Calvert granted temporary restraining orders on behalf of the plaintiffs and ordered ICE and DHS to reinstate student statuses retroactively to March 31, 2025.
“Plaintiffs are likely to show that Defendants’ termination of the SEVIS registration exceeds the bounds of statutory and regulatory authority and is therefore unlawful,” Calvert wrote.
The lawsuit was filed by the ACLU and other groups in the Northern District of Georgia.
Attorney General Pam Bondi, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and acting Director of ICE Todd Lyons are listed as defendants in the case.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has issued responses to the lawsuit.
However, the DOJ’s response is currently sealed in the court docket.
The plaintiffs argue that the SERVIS terminations were used as a coercive tool rather than a lawful enforcement action.
The students complained that they were given short notice to leave the U.S. despite maintaining valid student visas.
“DHS’s act of unlawfully terminating SEVIS records appears to be designed to coerce students, including each plaintiff, into abandoning their studies and ‘self-deporting’ despite not violating their status,” the plaintiffs wrote.
The government argues that the revocations were valid under existing laws and regulations.
Many of the students were flagged during criminal record checks or had their visas revoked.
They cited grounds for deportability, even when there had been no arrest or conviction.
The judge also rejected the government’s claim that granting relief to these students would affect the executive’s “control over immigration.”
Calvert claims that the terminations exceeded legal authority and likely violated the Administrative Procedure Act and the Fifth Amendment.
Furthermore, the judge found that the plaintiffs had demonstrated a substantial threat of irreparable harm, including loss of legal status, education, employment, and mental distress, and that the balance of harms and public interest favored the students.
The decision was welcomed by Akiva Freidlin, the senior staff attorney at the ACLU-Georgia.
“The Constitution protects everyone on American soil, so the Trump administration cannot ignore due process to unjustifiably threaten students with the loss of immigration status, and arrest and deportation,” Friedlin said in a statement.
“We believe this ruling shows the students are likely to prevail on their claims, and we are pleased the court ordered the government to halt its unlawful actions while the lawsuit continues.”
The case will now be heard for a preliminary injunction, potentially offering longer-term relief, on Thursday, April 24.
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