CLARKSBURG – The ACLU has filed another lawsuit after the federal government revoked the legal status of a West Virginia University student weeks before his scheduled graduation.
The American Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia filed the complaint April 24 on behalf of WVU student Sajawal Ali Sohail, a 25-year-old computer science major from Pakistan.
Less than a week ago, the ACLU-WV filed a similar suit on behalf of a Marshall University graduate student. On Wednesday, a federal judge issued a temporary injunction in that case.
Sohail received an email April 10 informing him his records with the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System had been terminated and his visa had been revoked because he appeared in a criminal database.
However, Sohail has never been convicted of a crime – he and his family were actually the victims of one.
In 2023, WVU police called Sohail in for questioning related to an investigation into his tuition payments. As it turned out, Sohail’s father had been duped by a scammer who offered to front the money for Sohail’s tuition. His father repaid the man as agreed, but it turned out the scammer had used stolen credit cards to make the initial payment.
Although Sohail initially was charged with the crime, the charges were dismissed and a judge ruled that he and his family were victims, not perpetrators. His family also helped federal law enforcement track down the real perpetrator.
Sohail said he is determined to graduate next month, adding that his father has spent most of his life savings on his degree. Despite his mistreatment by U.S. authorities, he said he still wants to pursue employment here.
“This has been an incredibly stressful time for me,” he said in a press release from the ACLU-WV. “I am losing my hair due to stress, I could not sleep in my own house for fear of getting arrested and deported.
“I am a good student from a good family, and I don’t deserve this. All my family and I have wanted since day 1 is to do everything the right way, the legal way, and I just want to complete my degree here in the U.S.”
ACLU-WV Legal Director Aubrey Sparks says there have been hundreds of cases of the Trump administration deleting international students’ SEVIS records. Sparks said Sohail’s case is one of the most egregious she has seen.
“Our client has been victimized three times now – once by a scammer, then again by police who incorrectly charged him with a crime, and now a third time by the Trump administration for citing that charge as grounds to endanger his legal status in the country,” Sparks said.
ACLU-WV Executive Director Eli Baumwell agreed.
“We’ve heard time and again from the Trump administration that they only want to remove criminals from the country, but we know that simply isn’t the case,” Baumwell said. “It’s obvious the administration has embarked on a policy of mass terminations regardless of the facts. We look forward to a court’s ruling on Mr. Sohail’s case.”
In addition to demanding that Sohail’s records be re-entered into the SEVIS system, ACLU-WV is also asking a judge to issue a temporary restraining order to halt any potential further actions against Sohail.
The complaint lists U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement Acting Director Todd Lyons and U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi as defendants.