A federal judge in California on Thursday halted the Trump administration’s attempt to end the legal status of international students across the country while a legal challenge to previous terminations is ongoing.
U.S. District Judge Jeffrey S. White, based in Oakland, issued an order prohibiting federal authorities from arresting, detaining, or relocating students solely due to their immigration status until the case is resolved.
However, students may still face arrest for unrelated reasons, and their status can be revoked if they are convicted of a violent felony carrying a sentence longer than one year.
“It’s a big win for our clients and nationwide,” Ben Loveman, one of the immigration attorneys on the case, told Newsweek after the decision.
“We’re seeking to get a permanent injunction against the government and other relief, so that our clients and other students can sleep easy and know that when they come here and study and pay their tuition, they won’t be unfairly terminated from their programs out of the blue and without legal cause.”
Why It Matters
The ruling comes on the same day that the Trump administration revoked Harvard University’s certification under the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP), effectively halting its ability to enroll international students and forcing any current international students to transfer or lose their legal status.
What To Know
Attorneys in the W.B. v. Noem, et al. case initially sought an injunction for their respective clients. The district judge’s decision to issue a nationwide injunction came while the Trump administration was challenging the power in the U.S. Supreme Court. Loveman said White’s move was surprising but welcome.
Most courts hearing these types of cases have granted protections to the person suing, but White said the government’s actions “wreaked havoc” not only on the lives of plaintiffs but also on the lives of other nonimmigrants in the U.S. on student visas.
Associated Press
White, nominated by former President George W. Bush, a Republican, issued the nationwide injunction sought by attorneys for about two dozen students who sued after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) abruptly terminated their legal status in early April.
More than 4,700 international students had their permission to study in the U.S. canceled this spring, with little notice or explanation, as part of President Donald Trump‘s crackdown on immigrants and foreign nationals.
In court hearings, Department of Homeland Security officials said they ran the names of student visa holders through an FBI-run database that contains the names of suspects and people who have been arrested, even if the charges were dropped or they were never charged with a crime.
Some students left the U.S. rather than risk being deported to a third country.
Government lawyers say the administration is exercising its prerogative to administer the Immigration and Nationality Act. They say students do not need the court’s protections because ICE reinstated legal status and was mailing status reactivation letters to affected students.
But White found those actions insufficient. He said that the erroneous revocation remained in the students’ records, impacting their ability to obtain a new visa or change their nonimmigrant status. Some students are still dealing with fallout from the previous terminations, and there is no guarantee they won’t have their legal status revoked again on a whim.
He also chastised the Trump administration for unveiling new policies or new actions in an apparent attempt to satisfy the courts’ concerns.
What People Are Saying
U.S. District Judge Jeffrey S. White, in his decision Thursday: “It is unclear how this game of whack-a-mole will end unless Defendants are enjoined from skirting their own mandatory regulations.”
Immigration attorney Ben Loveman told Newsweek: “In the background, we’re also sure that the Department of Homeland Security and ICE are searching for other ways to continue on their goal, whatever their motivation is behind that, to harass students and target universities.”
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Newsweek in a statement: “Today’s ruling delays justice and seeks to kneecap the President’s constitutionally vested powers under Article II. It is a privilege, not a right, for universities to enroll foreign students and benefit from their higher tuition payments to help pad their multibillion-dollar endowments; that fact hasn’t changed. The Trump administration is committed to restoring common sense to our student visa system, and we expect a higher court to vindicate us in this. We have the law, the facts, and common sense on our side.”
What Happens Next
It is likely the Trump administration will challenge the order, but for now, international students are protected from being detained by federal agents purely because of their immigration status.
Update 5/22/25, 5:26 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
Update 5/23/25, 9:36 a.m. ET: This article was updated with comment from DHS.
A federal judge in California on Thursday halted the Trump administration’s attempt to end the legal status of international students across the country while a legal challenge to previous terminations is ongoing.
U.S. District Judge Jeffrey S. White, based in Oakland, issued an order prohibiting federal authorities from arresting, detaining, or relocating students solely due to their immigration status until the case is resolved.
However, students may still face arrest for unrelated reasons, and their status can be revoked if they are convicted of a violent felony carrying a sentence longer than one year.
“It’s a big win for our clients and nationwide,” Ben Loveman, one of the immigration attorneys on the case, told Newsweek after the decision.
“We’re seeking to get a permanent injunction against the government and other relief, so that our clients and other students can sleep easy and know that when they come here and study and pay their tuition, they won’t be unfairly terminated from their programs out of the blue and without legal cause.”
Why It Matters
The ruling comes on the same day that the Trump administration revoked Harvard University’s certification under the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP), effectively halting its ability to enroll international students and forcing any current international students to transfer or lose their legal status.
What To Know
Attorneys in the W.B. v. Noem, et al. case initially sought an injunction for their respective clients. The district judge’s decision to issue a nationwide injunction came while the Trump administration was challenging the power in the U.S. Supreme Court. Loveman said White’s move was surprising but welcome.
Most courts hearing these types of cases have granted protections to the person suing, but White said the government’s actions “wreaked havoc” not only on the lives of plaintiffs but also on the lives of other nonimmigrants in the U.S. on student visas.
Associated Press
White, nominated by former President George W. Bush, a Republican, issued the nationwide injunction sought by attorneys for about two dozen students who sued after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) abruptly terminated their legal status in early April.
More than 4,700 international students had their permission to study in the U.S. canceled this spring, with little notice or explanation, as part of President Donald Trump‘s crackdown on immigrants and foreign nationals.
In court hearings, Department of Homeland Security officials said they ran the names of student visa holders through an FBI-run database that contains the names of suspects and people who have been arrested, even if the charges were dropped or they were never charged with a crime.
Some students left the U.S. rather than risk being deported to a third country.
Government lawyers say the administration is exercising its prerogative to administer the Immigration and Nationality Act. They say students do not need the court’s protections because ICE reinstated legal status and was mailing status reactivation letters to affected students.
But White found those actions insufficient. He said that the erroneous revocation remained in the students’ records, impacting their ability to obtain a new visa or change their nonimmigrant status. Some students are still dealing with fallout from the previous terminations, and there is no guarantee they won’t have their legal status revoked again on a whim.
He also chastised the Trump administration for unveiling new policies or new actions in an apparent attempt to satisfy the courts’ concerns.
What People Are Saying
U.S. District Judge Jeffrey S. White, in his decision Thursday: “It is unclear how this game of whack-a-mole will end unless Defendants are enjoined from skirting their own mandatory regulations.”
Immigration attorney Ben Loveman told Newsweek: “In the background, we’re also sure that the Department of Homeland Security and ICE are searching for other ways to continue on their goal, whatever their motivation is behind that, to harass students and target universities.”
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Newsweek in a statement: “Today’s ruling delays justice and seeks to kneecap the President’s constitutionally vested powers under Article II. It is a privilege, not a right, for universities to enroll foreign students and benefit from their higher tuition payments to help pad their multibillion-dollar endowments; that fact hasn’t changed. The Trump administration is committed to restoring common sense to our student visa system, and we expect a higher court to vindicate us in this. We have the law, the facts, and common sense on our side.”
What Happens Next
It is likely the Trump administration will challenge the order, but for now, international students are protected from being detained by federal agents purely because of their immigration status.
Update 5/22/25, 5:26 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
Update 5/23/25, 9:36 a.m. ET: This article was updated with comment from DHS.
