MI Student Chinmay Deore Facing Deportation Sues Trump Administration
India-West News Desk
DETROIT, MI — Chinmay Deore had done everything by the book. A 21-year-old computer science student at Wayne State University, he was on track to graduate in May 2025, had never violated a single immigration rule, and had his eyes set on gaining lawful work experience through Optional Practical Training (OPT) after college. But on April 4, an unexpected email shattered his future: his student status had been terminated.
The message from Wayne State cited a vague reason: “otherwise failing to maintain status,” with an added note that he had been “identified in a criminal records check and/or had [his] visa revoked.” No further explanation was given. Deore had no idea what the government was referring to. He had never been arrested or accused of a crime.
Deore is now one of hundreds of international students swept up in a growing immigration enforcement dragnet that, according to multiple lawsuits and university officials, is targeting students without due process or clear justification.
An investigation by Inside Higher Ed and a review by the Associated Press found that at least 1,300 students at more than 200 U.S. institutions have had their legal status changed or visas revoked since mid-March. The schools range from elite private institutions such as Harvard and Stanford to public universities like Ohio State and Maryland — and smaller liberal arts colleges, too.
Lawsuits filed by the ACLU argue that visa terminations are happening with little evidence and no opportunity for students to contest the decision.
Deore, who first came to the U.S. as a child on a dependent H-4 visa, has lived in Michigan for over a decade. His family—parents and younger sister—still reside lawfully in Canton. After graduating high school locally, he transitioned to an F-1 visa to pursue his degree at Wayne State. The shift to F-1 status was approved in 2022 without issue. Now, he finds himself at risk of detention and deportation.
“I’ve never been part of any protest. I’ve followed every rule,” Deore said through his attorney. “I don’t know what I’m being accused of, and I haven’t even been given a chance to respond.”
He is not alone.
Yogesh Joshi, a 32-year-old Ph.D. student from Nepal, also had his F-1 status revoked. Joshi is studying anatomy and cell biology at Wayne State, where he lives with his wife and their eight-month-old U.S. citizen child. Like Deore, he has never faced criminal or immigration violations and had planned to complete his doctorate by 2026.
Both students are part of a federal lawsuit filed in early April by the ACLU of Michigan, seeking to restore their legal status and stop the government from pursuing deportation proceedings. Also named in the lawsuit are Xiangyun Bu and Qiuyi Yang, graduate students from China studying at the University of Michigan. All four claim their SEVIS (Student and Exchange Visitor Information System) records were terminated without due process or credible justification.
“These terminations have put plaintiffs’ education, research, and career trajectory at risk,” the lawsuit reads. “If removed from the United States, Chinmay would be torn away from his family and lose the only home he has known for the past decade.”
Some colleges have begun issuing alerts to international students, urging them to carry immigration documents with them at all times and avoid international travel. University administrators have also demanded clarification from federal agencies, but so far, the government has remained largely silent.
Higher education leaders warn that these sweeping enforcement actions are already deterring international enrollment
