Trump Administration ‘chaotically’ revoked OSU doctoral student’s visa, lawsuit claims

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – When an Oregon State University doctoral student had his visa suddenly revoked by the Trump Administration on April 4, he was told he must depart the U.S. “immediately.” 

But according to the ACLU of Oregon, Aaron Ortega Gonzalez’s immigration status was terminated for no legal reason — effectively violating his student F-1 status and halting his research in rangeland ecology and management at the university’s College of Agricultural Sciences.

Now the ACLU is suing the Trump Administration on Gonzalez’s behalf for allegedly violating his due process rights. According to the lawsuit, the government is required to have a reason to terminate someone’s immigration status as well as give advance notice of — and an opportunity to respond to — his status revocation.

A Mexican citizen, Gonzalez came to OSU to research ways to restore livestock on Oregon ranchlands that have been impacted by wildfires. The suit states he has no known criminal history in the U.S. or abroad and he was given no reason for his changed F-1 status.

“To legally terminate a student’s status, the student, for example, must fail to take full courses of study, engage in unauthorized employment, or be convicted of a violent crime. None of those situations exist in this case, thus there is no basis for termination,” the ACLU states.

The lawsuit, joint-filed with the Innovation Law Lab, claims the terminations were “covertly entered” into the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) database by the Department of Homeland Security. 

Innovation Law Lab Executive Director Stephen Manning said Gonzalez is now at “serious risk” of being arrested and deported.

“Without status, not only was Aaron forced to immediately halt his research project, but he is also unable to work as a research assistant, which means he can no longer support himself financially in the U.S. and cannot afford tuition to continue his education,” Manning said.

The lawsuit also accuses the Trump Administration of actions that “chaotically upend F-1 student status for students across the country on a mass scale, without the provision of notice or due process to the affected students and schools.”

Across the country, over 1,000 students are at risk of deportation following the revocation of their F-1 status and more than a dozen of those students have been confirmed in Oregon.

Kelly Simon, the legal director at ACLU Oregon, said student immigrants like Gonzalez enrich U.S. university campuses.

“Students like Aaron bring diverse perspectives and enrich our state through their academic contributions,” Simon said. “Given the prevalence and increase of wildfires in Oregon, it is to our benefit to have the best minds in the world on our university campuses conducting this important and groundbreaking research.”

Last week, OSU shared the following statement with KOIN 6 News regarding the situation:

While immigration records are terminated from time to time for different reasons, the suddenness of these federal agency-initiated actions nationally has led us to review student immigration records even more frequently so that we can provide support to those impacted.

International students and employees who otherwise maintain their immigration status are typically not at risk of having their immigration status terminated suddenly, arbitrarily or without notification. For decades, OSU has proudly sponsored thousands of aspiring students and scholars across many fields as part of our commitment to expanding pathways to higher education for students locally and globally.

To advocate for OSU students and in service to the university’s mission, today OSU joined other universities on an amicus brief being filed by the President’s Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration in support of a lawsuit brought by the American Association of University Professors and others to challenge federal actions impacting international students and educators, including their speech and expression activities.