Hunter
05/16/25
A Federal judge has issued an injunction preventing federal Immigration authorities from deporting four international students attending the University of Iowa.
The four, who filed suit against the Trump administration for unlawfully changing their status from “active” to “terminated,” complied earlier with the judge’s order to identify themselves instead of being referred to as “John Doe #1-#4.”
The students’ status was terminated due to having criminal records. Three of them had OWI’s, while the other had a disorderly conduct and a number of driving violations.
Attorney Katherine Mellow Goettel, a University of Iowa law professor specializing in immigration law, said the students cannot be convicted of a crime of violence carrying a potential sentence of more than a year, and none of them met that threshold. She also claimed the government is trying to terminate visas of students with any criminal history of even minor interaction with law enforcement.
Judge Rebecca Goodgame Ebinger issued the preliminary injunction Thursday. It prevents the government from initiating removal proceedings against or deport any of the four students until a final decision is issued. The order also requires that the students’ status in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System be maintained.