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A federal judge in Columbus has granted a temporary restraining order in favor of an Ohio State University graduate whose student visa was terminated by President Donald Trump's administration.
Why It Matters
Immigration is a cornerstone of White House policy agenda. Over a thousand foreign students have had their visas revoked since Trump returned to office. The administration has revoked visas of international students alleged to have been involved in pro-Palestinian activism on college campuses. This action stems from Executive Order 14188, signed in early 2025, which aims to combat antisemitism. However, critics argue the administration is leveraging the order to stifle free speech.
What To Know
On Tuesday, April 22, U.S. District Court Judge Algenon L. Marbley of the Southern District of Ohio granted a temporary restraining order in favor of Prasanna Oruganti, an international graduate student from India pursuing a Ph.D. in agricultural engineering.
The ruling directs U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons to reinstate Oruganti's F-1 student visa. It also prohibits both federal agencies from taking any further action related to the visa termination, including detention or initiating deportation proceedings, according to the court order.
Oruganti filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Noem and Lyons on April 16, challenging the termination of her student visa.
The termination of the visa jeopardizes her ability to continue working at the university, puts her monthly stipend at risk, and could ultimately result in deportation.
According to the court ruling granting the temporary restraining order, Oruganti works in the Department of Food, Agriculture, and Biomedical Engineering as part of her doctoral program.
The government argued that Oruganti's visa was revoked because she was identified in a criminal background check, which they claimed violated her F-1 status. However, Oruganti countered that the so-called "criminal history" stems from a June 2020 guilty plea to a minor misdemeanor—a defective equipment charge from a driving incident in Missouri. She paid a $300 fine for the offense.
Oruganti is among at least 12 Ohio State students whose visas have been revoked or terminated in recent weeks by the Trump administration. Another OSU graduate student, Ph.D. candidate Ahwar Sultan, filed a federal lawsuit on April 16, claiming the administration targeted him for his involvement in pro-Palestine protests that took place at the university in April 2024.
In court filings on April 21, Andre Watson, assistant director of the National Security Division for Homeland Security Investigations, stated that Sultan's visa was terminated due to his arrest on April 25, 2024, for participating in pro-Palestine protests. As part of the case, Sultan was required to complete 10 hours of community service and attend a workshop on civil discourse, both of which he completed promptly, according to the court filings.
"Ms. Oruganti is one of hundreds, if not more, of students nationwide whose record and F-1 status in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information Systems (SEVIS) database1 was abruptly terminated by ICE the week of April 7, 2025," court documents read.
More than 1,500 student visas have been revoked as part of Trump's crackdown on immigrants engaged in political activism, according to data reported by Inside Higher Ed.
Meanwhile, a federal judge in Georgia has ordered ICE to restore the legal status of 133 students whose F-1 visas were revoked, leaving them at risk of deportation. On Friday, Judge Victoria M. Calvert of the state's Northern District issued a temporary restraining order against the government, preventing further action being taken to revoke the students' visas. The order, which will remain in effect for 14 days, required the administration to restore the visas by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, April 22.
Newsweek has contacted the Northern District Court and DHS via email to inquire whether the visas were restored.
What People Are Saying
Prasanna Oruganti's attorney Emily Brown said: "[The Trump administration] is [revoking visas] for similarly baseless reasons, and we hope that they will cease their illegal action."
What Happens Next
A preliminary injunction hearing for Oruganti's case is scheduled for May 8.
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About the writer
Billal Rahman is an immigration reporter based in London, U.K. He specializes in immigration policy and border security. He has ... Read more