U.S. District Court Largely Denies Motion to Dismiss in Challenge to Mass Student Visa Revocations and SEVIS Terminations
Boston, MA — March 2026 — The U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts largely denied the federal government’s motion to dismiss in Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration v. Noem, allowing a broad challenge to proceed to the government’s mass revocation of international student visas and termination of student status records.
Photo by Francesco Sgura
The case arises from a nationwide initiative launched in March 2025 by the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of State. Under that program, federal officials ran the names of approximately 1.3 million international students through a criminal database and identified several thousand “hits,” including individuals with no criminal history, such as witnesses or victims listed in the system. Based on those results, the government terminated thousands of students’ Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) records and revoked their visas without individualized adjudication.
As alleged, termination of a SEVIS record carries immediate legal consequences, effectively stripping a student of F-1 status and the ability to study, work, or remain in the United States. The complaint further alleges that these actions were taken without notice-and-comment rulemaking and without lawful authority to equate database “hits” or visa revocations with a failure to maintain status.
The government moved to dismiss, arguing that plaintiffs lacked standing, that subsequent agency actions mooted the case, and that the complaint failed to state a claim. In a detailed opinion, the court rejected those arguments in substantial part, holding that plaintiffs plausibly alleged concrete injuries, that the challenged policies remain subject to judicial review, and that the case may proceed on most of its core claims.
“We are grateful that the court rejected the government’s attempt to avoid scrutiny of its unjustified assault on international students,” said David Zimmer of Zimmer, Citron & Clarke, who represents plaintiffs in the litigation, together with the National Immigration Project and Green & Spiegel. “We’re proud to help in this battle, and look forward to seeing justice pursued in the courts.”
The decision marks a significant development in ongoing litigation concerning the federal government’s authority to implement large-scale immigration enforcement measures affecting international students and higher education institutions. The case will now proceed in the district court.
