On April 18, 2025, four ACLU affiliates and the law firm Sheehan & Gordon filed a federal class action lawsuit seeking to represent over 100 New England students plus Puerto Rico who had their F-1 student immigration status unlawfully and abruptly terminated with no specified reason as to why.  The lawsuit also asks the court to reinstate their F-1 student status, which would allow them to continue their studies.

According to the lawsuit, these unilateral and unlawful terminations have severely disrupted the educational opportunities of these students who are in the middle of their studies and who are simply trying to obtain…………………., an education in the US while following all the rules required of them.  With terminated F-1 status, they are also now at dire risk of detetnion and deportation.

These terminations by the US Department of Homeland Security have been occurring since at least March 1, 2025 and have impacted hundreds, if not thousands, of international students throughout the US.  Inside Higher Education estimates that, as of April 17, 2025, over 210 college and universities have identified 1,400 plus international students and recent graduates who have had their legal status changed.  As of April 11, 2025, this includes 112 across New Hampshire, Maine, Masschusettts, Rhode Island and Puerto Rico.

The case is pending in the US District Court for the District of New Hampshire.