An Oregon State University who was stripped of his F-1 student visa earlier this month has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration to avoid detention and deportation.
The ACLU of Oregon has joined with an immigration law firm to represent Aaron Ortega Gonzalez, a Corvallis resident and 32-year-old citizen of Mexico and wildlife scientist who was pursuing his Ph.D. in rangeland ecology and management in the university’s agricultural sciences college and worked as a graduate assistant.
Ortega Gonzalez’s research focused on the restoration of livestock ranchlands in Oregon that have been damaged by wildfires, his lawyers said.
His F-1 student status was terminated by the government on April 4 “without any notice or meaningful explanation, either to him or to his university,” according to the suit, filed Wednesday in federal court in Eugene.
The suit urges U.S. District Judge Michael W. McShane to restore Ortega Gonzales’ F-1 student status, arguing that it was halted without due process.
The suit contends the move is part of a nationwide practice by the Trump administration to “upend the lives of hundreds, if not thousands, of immigrant students nationwide” through the “mass termination of F-1 student status.”
As of Wednesday, more than 1,400 such student visas have been terminated at nearly 100 colleges and universities, according to the suit.
The White House has asserted that some of the immigrant students have threatened national security, though immigration officials have not provided reasons in the vast majority of cases.
Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, noncitizens can enroll in government-approved universities and enter the United States on an F-1 visa issued by the U.S. Department of State.
They are granted student status and allowed to remain in the United States as long as they continue to meet the requirements governing a student visa classification, which includes maintaining a full course of study, avoiding unauthorized employment and not being convicted of a crime of violence that could carry a sentence of more than one year.
Ortega Gonzalez had been admitted to the United States as an F-1 student visa on July 31, 2021, according to the suit.
He first obtained a master’s degree at Sul Ross State University in Alpine, Texas, and then was accepted into OSU’s Ph.D. program.
He was admitted to the United States again in August 2024 as an F-1 student, according to papers issued by OSU, to pursue his doctorate, the suit says. He was expected to complete his degree in June 2029.
The Department of Homeland Security’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program, known as SEVIS, administers the F-1 student program and tracks information regarding students with F-1 student status.
When U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement terminated Ortega Gonzalez’s F-1 visa on April 4, it provided only this reason: “individual identified in criminal records check and/or has had their VISA revoked. SEVIS record terminated,” according to the suit.
But Ortega Gonzalez has never been charged with or convicted of a crime and has complied with the terms of the his student visa, the suit said.
“Failure to provide notice and an opportunity to be heard violated Mr. Ortega Gonzalez’s rights under the Fifth Amendment,” attorney Stephen Manning, executive director of Innovation Law Lab, wrote in the complaint.
Ortega Gonzalez is at risk of arrest and detention for removal proceedings, Manning said.
The suit lists as defendants Kristi Nome, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Todd Lyons, acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“Trump has forced chaos into the lives of students like Aaron, students who are critical to Oregon and our collective prosperity. We know that the opposite of chaos is due process and Aaron is entitled to due process and that’s why he is going to court,” Manning said in a statement. “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.”
Kelly Simon, ACLU of Oregon’s legal director, said international students are a vital part of the state’s universities and communities.
“Students like Aaron bring diverse perspectives and enrich our state through their academic contributions,” she 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.”
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