Trump administration restores IU Indianapolis student’s legal status

An IU Indianapolis graduate student has had her legal status restored after it was abruptly revoked by the Trump administration, the ACLU of Indiana said in an April 29 press release.

Jelena Liu, an international student from China studying informatics, had received an email on April 4 from the director of international student services at IU Indianapolis telling her that her legal status had been revoked. 

The email cited the reason as being that Liu had been identified in a criminal records check or had her F-1 visa terminated, but did not give specifics. Per the ACLU’s complaint, Liu does not have a criminal record and her paperwork was up to date. Mirror Indy could not find evidence of a criminal or civil record in Indiana or in federal court records. 

Eight other affected international students at Purdue University, Indiana Tech and the University of Notre Dame also had their legal statuses restored, according to an April 28 court filing.

When a person has their visa revoked, they cannot reenter the U.S., but their legal status does not immediately change. Removing a student’s legal status takes away their ability to be in the U.S., putting them in immediate danger of deportation.

Liu is among hundreds of students nationwide to have their legal statuses terminated in a federal immigration database that keeps track of international students in the U.S. 

On April 25, lawyers for the Department of Homeland Security announced the agency would restore international students’ ability to be in the U.S. while it works toward coming up with a policy for revoking legal status. That new framework, revealed in court April 28, gives a host of reasons why students can have their ability to stay in the U.S., including if their visa is revoked. 

At least six other IU Indianapolis students also had their legal statuses terminated recently, IU Indianapolis provost Jay Gladden told faculty April 15. 

IU did not respond to Mirror Indy’s request for comment about whether other affected students at IU Indianapolis had also had their legal statuses restored. 

The Associated Press contributed reporting. 

Mirror Indy, a nonprofit newsroom, is funded through grants and donations from individuals, foundations and organizations.

Claire Rafford covers higher education for Mirror Indy in partnership with Open Campus. Contact Claire by email [email protected], on most social media @clairerafford or on Signal 317-759-0429. 

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