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ICE terminated student status records of two lawfully enrolled international graduate students at Montana State University

In April 2025, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement terminated the SEVIS student status records of two international graduate students lawfully enrolled at Montana State University, effectively revoking their authorization to remain in the United States without legal basis. The ACLU of Montana filed suit against then-Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and ICE, challenging the terminations as unlawful. A federal judge issued an emergency order in April 2025 blocking the government from deporting the students; the U.S. government subsequently reinstated their records and changed its policy. The government settled the lawsuit in July 2026, formally committing to protect the students' immigration status.

Jurisdiction
Federal
Location
Bozeman, Montana

Abuses documented

Actors

In April 2025, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement terminated the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) records of two international graduate students lawfully enrolled at Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana, effectively stripping their F-1 student status and placing them in immediate jeopardy of deportation. ICE took the action without stated cause consistent with the lawful grounds for SEVIS termination; the students were properly enrolled, in good academic standing, and had committed no violation of their visa terms.

The ACLU of Montana filed suit on behalf of the two students; federal courts sustained interim protection through the July 2026 settlement.

The SEVIS terminations were part of a pattern documented across multiple universities nationwide in which ICE terminated the records of international students on valid visas without lawful basis during the spring 2025 term. Federal courts issued emergency relief in multiple cases, and subsequent litigation established that many terminations lacked factual and legal basis.

Updates

2025-04-14 — ACLU of Montana filed federal complaint seeking emergency order protecting MSU students from deportation [1, 3]

The ACLU of Montana filed a federal lawsuit on April 14, 2025, challenging ICE's termination of the two MSU graduate students' SEVIS records as unlawful and requesting a temporary restraining order to prevent the government from deporting them while the case proceeded. The students — a PhD candidate in electrical engineering and physics and a student weeks from completing a microbiology degree — had committed no criminal violations or immigration infractions.

2025-04-15 — Federal court issued emergency order blocking deportation of MSU students [1]

A federal judge in the District of Montana issued an emergency order halting the U.S. government's effort to deport the two MSU graduate students whose SEVIS records had been terminated, finding the terminations lacked lawful basis and that the students faced irreparable harm.

2026-07-22 — U.S. government settled lawsuit, agreeing to protect students' immigration status [2]

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security under Secretary Markwayne Mullin and ICE Acting Director David Venturella settled the ACLU of Montana lawsuit, formally committing to reinstate the students' SEVIS records as "active" with no record of prior termination, and agreeing not to penalize them as having ever had their status terminated. The settlement preserved the students' ability to complete their graduate degrees in Montana.

Why we recorded this

International students on valid F-1 visas cannot be removed from the United States without lawful basis. Federal immigration law sets specific grounds for terminating student status in the SEVIS database; abrupt termination without stated cause or opportunity to respond strips lawfully present students of their legal status without due process. ICE terminated the SEVIS records of two Montana State University graduate students who were lawfully enrolled on valid visas, effectively placing them in immediate jeopardy of deportation. A federal court blocked the deportation attempt and ultimately the U.S. government was required to settle the lawsuit and reinstate the students. This archive records when immigration enforcement targets lawfully present international students without lawful basis.

Sources

  1. Roe et al. v. Noem et al. (D. Mont. 2025) — CourtListener / PACER primary accessed July 25, 2026
  2. ACLU of Montana settles with feds after trying to deport foreign MSU students — Daily Montanan secondary accessed July 25, 2026
  3. Missoula judge grants temporary restraining order for MSU international students — NBC Montana secondary accessed July 26, 2026

See also