Federal Judge strikes down Trump-Era visa rule, defending international students' rights

In a stinging rebuke of the Trump administration’s immigration policy, a federal judge on May 22 issued a nationwide injunction temporarily halting efforts to detain or deport international students whose visas had been revoked, calling the move likely unlawful and deeply destabilizing.

The ruling, delivered by Judge Jeffrey White of the US District Court for the Northern District of California, came just hours after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) stripped Harvard University of its certification under the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP). That unprecedented step would have barred the Ivy League institution from hosting international students.

Though the case did not specifically challenge DHS’s action against Harvard, legal experts say the scope of the injunction is broad enough to significantly hinder the government’s broader enforcement campaign.

Judge White, a George W. Bush appointee, did not mince words in his 21-page opinion. He accused federal officials of “uniformly wreaking havoc” on the legal status of international students and likely overstepping their authority. “The relief the court grants provides plaintiffs with a measure of stability and certainty,” White wrote. “That they will be able to continue their studies or their employment without the threat of re-termination hanging over their heads.”

The injunction bars the federal government from arresting, deporting, or stripping legal status from international students participating in SEVP — a DHS-administered program that oversees student visas. The court's order also prevents any further revocation of immigration status while legal proceedings are underway.

Judge White specifically criticized the administration’s erratic legal maneuvering and what he described as an apparent attempt to dodge judicial oversight. “At each turn in this and similar litigation across the nation,” he wrote, “defendants have abruptly changed course to satisfy courts’ expressed concerns. It is unclear how this game of whack-a-mole will end unless defendants are enjoined from skirting their own mandatory regulations.”

The injunction applies to all “similarly situated individuals” under SEVP, potentially protecting thousands of international students nationwide who were caught in the crosshairs of shifting immigration policy.

Legal analysts say the ruling not only restores a measure of normalcy for affected students but also underscores the judiciary’s role in checking executive power — especially when it comes to policies that disrupt education, employment, and lawful presence in the US.

This decision marks a significant legal setback for a Trump-era strategy that critics say sought to weaponize immigration enforcement at the expense of academic institutions and foreign scholars.