FORT COLLINS, Colo. — With less than a month left in the semester at Colorado State University (CSU), a growing number of international students are having their visas revoked by the Trump administration.
CSU officials said as of Friday, 16 international students have had their immigration status revoked. Across the University of Colorado's four campuses, that number is now at 22 international students.
CSU Junior Ella Smith said it's created a sense of fear among students.
"Many of them are asking me like, ‘How am I supposed to finish my semester?’” Smith said. "We're scared. We're scared for our fellow students."
Across the country, more than 1,000 international students have lost their F-1 visasor legal status in recent weeks.
"The department revokes visas every day in order to secure our borders and to keep our community safe, and we'll continue to do so," said Tammy Bruce, spokesperson for the U.S. State Department.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio addressed the recent crackdown and noted that visa revocations were primarily targeting individuals involved in protests against Israel’s war in Gaza and those with outstanding criminal charges.
"If you come here to vandalize a library, take over a campus and do all kinds of crazy things, you know, we’re going to get rid of all of these people," Rubio said.
Education
More than 30 international students in CO now reportedly losing their visas
Now, six international students attending college in Colorado and whose visas were revoked are suing the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The lawsuits were filed this week in U.S. District Court in Denver.
Zachary New, partner at Joseph and Hall, represents those six international students.
"Truly, they are not, you know, hardened criminals or anything along those lines," said New.
The students' schools are not being identified for their safety, but New said they attend class in Denver, Fort Collins and Colorado Springs.
In an interview with Denver7, New said the students were told their records in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) were terminated.
New said his clients are from African, Middle Eastern, and Asian countries and, according to him, have only minor criminal infractions on their records.
"These are individuals who have extremely, extremely low-level interactions with law enforcement," said New.
According to one of the court filings reviewed by Denver7, the unnamed plaintiff, who was identified as Student Doe, resides in Fort Collins. They received a notification in early April from their college that their SEVIS status had been terminated.
The reason given for the termination was "Other-Individual identified in criminal records check and/or has had their VISA revoked," according to the documents.
Student Doe's criminal history "is limited to a charge of driving under the influence, drunk driving and reckless driving—alcohol related in California," according to the filing. The drunk driving charges were subsequently dismissed.
Another one of New's clients, a graduate student in Denver, received the same notification regarding their SEVIS status.
Court documents show that the student ran a red light, resulting in a crash and a fine. The student also "pled guilty to a petty larceny offense," the lawsuit said. After completing community service, the case was dismissed, and charges were dropped.
A third international student represented by New has "not engaged in any significant political activity," according to court documents. That plaintiff's criminal history involves an arrest several years ago for possession of alcohol and marijuana as a minor, the lawsuit said.
New doesn't believe those actions justify deportation.
He said his clients want their immigration records restored so they can stay in the country without fear and continue their studies. He expects their first hearings to be in about two weeks.
"The psychological impact of these terminations is immense, and in some ways is perhaps more important than the actual terminations themselves," said New.
Denver7 is committed to making a difference in our community by standing up for what's right, listening, lending a helping hand and following through on promises. See that work in action, in the videos above.