Visas restored for 9 New Mexico State University international students

• Nine New Mexico State University international students have had their visas reinstated.
• The visas were initially revoked due to infractions related to current law or outdated records.
• Over 200 students have won court orders against similar visa revocations.

Nine international students at New Mexico State University have had their visas restored amid an apparent change of course by President Donald Trump’s administration.

The visas for nine students who had their visas revoked, have been reinstated, according to NMSU. An immigration termination or violation doesn’t impact a student’s enrollment or academic standing at NMSU, so the students affected were not disenrolled.

NMSU recently reported the students had their visas revoked as a result of executive orders issued by Trump.

The university initially confirmed that six students had their visa revoked in April, but the university could not disclose the reason. However, since Trump took office, there have been more than 4,700 students deleted from the Student Exchange and Visitor Information System (SEVIS) database.

In a message to the campus community, NMSU President Valerio Ferme said that the revoked visas stem from the “result of infractions related to current law or outdated records,” not protests or social media posts.

Multiple universities have reported some international students discovered their visas were canceled in SEVIS via an unexpected text or email. Universities and the government use the database to track foreign students and students rely on it for their authorization to remain in the country. The terminations sparked more than 100 lawsuits. 

Over 200 students removed from SEVIS have won court orders temporarily barring the administration from taking actions against them, according to a Reuters count.

A U.S. District Court in New Mexico ruled in favor of a Ghanaian doctoral student at New Mexico Tech last week, who challenged the abrupt termination of his F-1 student status without explanation. The Court granted the temporary restraining order requested by his legal team, allowing him to maintain his academic standing while his case proceeds. 

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico and Huffman, Wallace & Monagle LLC are representing the student, referred to as, K.O.D. in the case. 

“(The April 23, 2025) ruling sends a clear message that the government cannot arbitrarily target international students,” said Rebecca Sheff, senior staff attorney at the ACLU of New Mexico. “This is an important first step toward justice for K.O.D. and potentially hundreds of other international students facing similar situations.”