Hunter
10/17/25
A US Attorney has asked a federal court to put a pause on a suit brought by four University of Iowa international students against the Department of Homeland Security, saying the government shutdown and having funds cut off prevents them from properly mounting a defense.
The Gazette reports the government filed a motion with the US District Court for the Southern District of Iowa on October 9th, just over a week after the shutdown first took effect. In the motion, the government said, “As the court undoubtedly is aware, the appropriations that fund the Department of Justice and other executive branch agencies lapsed after September 30, 2025, and it is currently unclear when this lapse in funding will conclude. “This means that the government is generally unable to devote resources to civil litigation that does not have a nexus to public safety or national security.”
KCJJ originally reported the students filed suit in April to keep the federal government from deporting them. They claimed they had done nothing to violate their student statuses, have no record of serious criminal charges, and remain in good academic standing with the University of Iowa.
Three of the four students were convicted on OWI charges, while the fourth was convicted of disorderly conduct.
That month, U.S. District Judge Rebecca Goodgame Ebinger instructed the Department of Homeland Security to restore the students’ F-1 status in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System — or SEVIS.
She further ordered DHS to not terminate the students’ SEVIS status again without valid reasons and without a proper proceeding in which they’re allowed to review and respond to evidence.
The Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement Acting Director Todd Lyons are named as defendants in the suit.
The government has also asked for dismissal of the case, but the plaintiffs allege that new policies by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement have expanded the grounds on which it can terminate SEVIS records. The students say declaratory relief would clarify their rights to stay in the US for the record.