Who is Chinmay Deore, Indian student suing Trump administration over possible deportation?

An Indian student is among four students from public universities in Michigan who have filed a lawsuit against the Donald Trump administration over possible deportation from the US.

The lawsuit comes after their student visa status was revoked “unlawfully”.

The **four students**, Chinmay Deore from India, Xiangyun Bu and Qiuyi Yang from China, and Yogesh Joshi from Nepal, have filed the case against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and immigration officials.

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Across the country, international students are turning to US courts to stop immigration authorities from deporting them. This comes after action by the Trump administration to strip thousands of student visa holders of their right to stay in the US.

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In this explainer, we explore the details of the lawsuit filed by the four students, what we know about Indian student Chinmay Deore, and how international students are being deported from the country.

Who is Chinmay Deore?

Deore, 21, is an undergraduate student at Wayne State University, where he has been studying computer science since August 2021.

He is originally from India and holds Indian citizenship. His first entry into the United States was in 2004, when he arrived with his family on an H-4 dependent visa.

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The family returned to India in 2008 and came back to the US in 2014, once again on H-4 dependent visas.

After finishing high school in Michigan, he joined Wayne State University for his undergraduate studies.

In May 2022, as he was nearing the age limit for H-4 eligibility, he lawfully applied for and was granted a switch to F-1 student status.

He expects to complete his degree and graduate by May 2025. At present, he lives with his immediate family in Canton.

According to the lawsuit, Chinmay has never faced any criminal charges or convictions in the United States. Apart from a speeding ticket and a parking ticket, both of which he paid without delay, he has not been involved in any civil violations, traffic offences, or breaches of immigration rules.

The lawsuit also said that he has not taken part in any political protests on campus.

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Why have the students filed a lawsuit? What are they saying?

International students across the country have taken legal action after the US government removed them from a system that tracks roughly 1.1 million international visa holders, placing them at risk of deportation.

This system records details such as students’ addresses, academic progress, and visa compliance. To remain listed, students must follow the rules of their visas, including restrictions on work and staying clear of unlawful behaviour.

Since Donald Trump took office on January 20, over 4,700 students have been removed from this system, known as the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), Reuters reported, citing the American Immigration Lawyers Association.

In this case, Deore and three other students have taken the Department of Homeland Security and immigration officials to court, alleging that their removal from SEVIS was done unlawfully and without proper notice or explanation.

Notably, SEVIS is used to keep track of international students and exchange visitors in the US. Once a student is deleted from this system, they lose their legal status and may be forced to leave the country straightaway.

The case, filed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, has been brought by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on behalf of the students.

They are asking the court to restore their legal student status. The students say they have not committed any crimes, broken immigration rules, or been involved in political protests on campus.

“None of them has been charged with, let alone convicted of, any crime in the US. None has violated any immigration law. Nor have they been active in on-campus protests regarding any political issue. The lawsuit asks the court to reinstate the status of these students so that they will be able to complete their studies and avoid facing the risk of detention and deportation,” the complaint reads.

Notably, some students in the past have lost their visas over involvement in campus activism. But now, authorities are reportedly asking international students, including many from India, to leave the country over **smaller offences**.

In recent instances, students have claimed they were removed from SEVIS over matters like drink-driving, unsafe lane changes, or speeding. Some immigration lawyers have also said that there have even been cases where students were penalised for something as minor as a social media post.

Court challenges pile up against Trump administration

On Tuesday, judges in at least seven states, including Massachusetts, Montana and Wisconsin, as well as Washington, DC, issued emergency orders preventing immigration officials from taking action against students whose legal status had been revoked by the government.

“This is popping up all over the country,” US District Judge Patti Saris in Boston said during a hearing held that day.

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In court documents, the administration stated that students can lose their eligibility to remain in the US if their names appear in criminal background checks.

Under existing law, criminal activity refers to cases where student visa holders are convicted of violent crimes that carry possible jail terms of over one year.

However, many of the students now bringing legal action claim their status was cancelled because of background checks that flagged up minor violations or even charges that were dropped.

This case comes after a recent court decision to pause the deportation of 21-year-old Indian student Krish Lal Isserdasani, whose visa had been cancelled. Krish is due to complete his studies in May.

With inputs from agencies