Judges block Trump administration from deporting Indian student

A FEDERAL judge has temporarily blocked the Donald Trump administration from deporting a 21-year-old Indian undergraduate student whose visa was suddenly cancelled.

Krish Lal Isserdasani, who has been studying computer engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison since 2021, was just weeks away from completing his degree when he discovered his student visa had been terminated without warning.

District judge William Conley granted a temporary restraining order preventing immigration authorities from enforcing the visa termination or detaining Isserdasani, with a preliminary injunction hearing scheduled for April 28.

The case emerges amid a wider crackdown on international students, with approximately 1,300 students nationwide having their records abruptly terminated in the Student and Exchange Visitor System (SEVIS).

Madison Attorney Shabnam Lotfi described the order as "one of the first national victories for international student visa holders" affected by these sudden terminations.

Court documents revealed that Isserdasani's visa problems stemmed from a November 2024 arrest following a verbal argument while walking home from a bar. Although the district attorney declined to pursue charges, his student visa was cancelled without notice on April 4.

"He was given no warning, no opportunity to explain or defend himself, and no chance to correct any potential misunderstanding before his F-1 student visa record was terminated," court papers revealed.

Isserdasani and his family have reportedly invested approximately $240,000 (£188,000) in his US education, and he stands to lose $17,500 (£13,700) in tuition for his final semester if unable to graduate as planned on May 10.

In a separate but related case, another Indian student, Chinmay Deore from Wayne State University, has joined students from China and Nepal in filing a lawsuit against Homeland Security and immigration officials. They allege their immigration status was "illegally terminated" without explanation.

The lawsuit, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in Michigan, seeks to reinstate their legal status. The students claim they neither violated immigration laws nor participated in campus protests.

ACLU of Michigan executive director Loren Khogali criticised the administration's approach: "The aim of this administration is to sow chaos and fear by attacking some people to terrorise us all. They are now coming for international students who provide critical perspectives and contributions to our academic communities."

The crackdown appears to target students with minor legal infractions, including traffic violations, as well as those allegedly involved in campus activism. Many students have reportedly received emails instructing them to "self-deport" despite having valid student visas.

Trump recently said he wants to provide money and flight tickets to immigrants who "self-deport," signalling a continuing hardline stance on immigration during his presidency.

(PTI)