Judge rules Trump admin must restore Ohio State grad student’s visa
A federal judge has ruled that the Trump administration must reinstate the legal status of Ahwar Sultan, a graduate student at Ohio State University who was arrested at a 2024 anti-Israel protest. Sultan, who hails from India, filed a civil lawsuit in D.C. District Court after his F-1 student visa was abruptly terminated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) following his participation in protests against Israel’s military actions in Gaza. Court documents revealed that Sultan’s charges from the protest were dismissed and expunged from his record.
One week after Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the revocation of visas for hundreds of foreign students, Sultan was informed by OSU administrators that he no longer had active legal status. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan’s ruling mandates the immediate return of Sultan’s visa by the Trump administration and prohibits any modification to his record solely based on his arrest at the protest.
A future hearing will allow Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials to explain the rationale behind Sultan’s status change and clarify if removal proceedings will be initiated against him. The lawsuit, brought by Sultan and the Students for Justice in Palestine at OSU, names several key officials including President Donald Trump, Secretary Rubio, Attorney General Pamela Bondi, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, and ICE Director Todd Lyons. Sultan joins a group of at least a dozen other OSU students whose visas were recently revoked.
In a separate case, a federal judge in Georgia, appointed by President Biden, ordered the administration to reinstate the legal statuses of 133 international students whose F-1 visas were revoked by ICE and DHS. The decision marks a significant victory for international students facing visa challenges in the current political climate.
Despite repeated attempts, OSU did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on the matter. Fox News Digital’s Michael Dorgan contributed to this report.
The story serves as a reminder of the ongoing challenges faced by international students in the United States and the importance of upholding their rights and legal protections. Stay tuned for further updates on this developing story.
