Dartmouth student’s dream jeopardized as he’s at risk of deportation, suit says
An international student’s future in America is uncertain after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security suddenly revoked his student immigration status, jeopardizing his doctoral program at Dartmouth College and putting him at risk of deportation, a new federal lawsuit says.
Xiaotian Liu, who’s been working toward a PhD degree since he enrolled as a doctoral student at Dartmouth in September 2023, is one of several students in the U.S. who had their F-1 student status revoked without warning or reason by DHS on April 4, according to the lawsuit filed on his behalf by the ACLU of New Hampshire and Shaheen & Gordon P.A. law firm.
Now, the ACLU of New Hampshire and the law firm are challenging DHS’ authority, arguing that Liu’s student status was protected by the Student and Exchange Visitor program, which is managed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“Xiaotian’s dream of finishing his doctoral program and obtaining a Ph.D. at Dartmouth College is now in severe jeopardy because of DHS’s decision to abruptly terminate his F-1 student status under the (Student and Exchange Visitor) system without affirmatively notifying him or even his school on or about Friday, April 4, 2025,” a federal complaint filed April 7 says.
DHS and ICE didn’t immediately return McClatchy News’ request for comment April 8.
Liu, a citizen of China, was notified by Dartmouth College on April 4 that his visa and student status were revoked by DHS, according to the complaint.
In an email, the college wrote it learned of the change that evening and was unsure “why” it happened, the complaint says.
Dartmouth said in an emailed statement to McClatchy News that as of the afternoon of April 8, the college “is aware of two international community members who have had their records terminated in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS).”
“Dartmouth was not notified of these record changes,” the college said. “They were discovered by Dartmouth staff during a proactive check of the SEVIS database.”
With his student immigration status no longer valid, Liu could potentially be detained and deported by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to the filing, which names DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons as defendants.
The lawsuit says Liu is challenging “DHS’ unlawful termination of his F-1 student status under the SEVIS system” because student statuses can’t “be terminated as a result of visa revocation after a student has been admitted into the United States.”
The filing argues there’s no legal basis for the revocation of his student status, as Liu is in good standing as a student, has been legally living in the U.S. and followed the nation’s laws.
“In light of the unlawful termination of (Liu’s) SEVIS record and F-1 student status, (he) is at risk of abrupt detention without prior notice,” the complaint says. “ ... He has not committed a traffic violation, let alone a crime, in the United States. Nor has he participated in any protest in the United States or elsewhere.”
“There is no credible argument for (Liu’s) immigration detention, preventing him from pursuing his studies.”
Right to due process
The lawsuit accuses the Trump administration of violating Liu’s constitutional right to due process because he wasn’t notified in advance that DHS was planning to revoke his F-1 student status, which allows non-immigrant students to stay in the country to study at accredited institutions across the U.S..
Before his doctoral program, Liu lawfully came to the U.S. to begin his undergraduate studies at Wake Forest University in 2016, then graduated in May 2020, according to the lawsuit. He earned a master’s degree from Wake University in May 2023 after two “gap” semesters.
Now that his doctoral program is in jeopardy, Liu has been put in “an extremely difficult financial and academic position,” the complaint says.
As of April 7, nearly 150 international students have had their visas terminated in the U.S., The New York Times reported.
“We are alarmed by the Trump administration’s sudden revocation, without any notice or stated explanation, of student visas and status at universities across the country, including our client here in New Hampshire,” Gilles Bissonnette, the ACLU of New Hampshire’s legal director, said in an April 7 news release.
Dartmouth told McClatchy News that the college is continuing to “monitor (the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System) and will immediately email any affected student or scholar in the event a SEVIS record is terminated.”
“Dartmouth is in direct contact with the two affected individuals, and, more broadly, is committed to helping impacted community members connect with legal and support resources,” the college said.
This story was originally published April 8, 2025 at 1:05 PM with the headline "Dartmouth student’s dream jeopardized as he’s at risk of deportation, suit says."
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