Students and community members gather for The “All out for Gaza” protest, hosted by Students for Justice in Palestine, on the South Oval April 25. Alwar Sultan — one of the 36 people arrested that evening — is now suing the Trump administration for revoking his F-1 student visa. Credit: Christian Harsa | Senior Lantern Reporter
An Ohio State graduate student filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration for revoking his F-1 student visa, alleging he was targeted for participating in pro-Palestinian protests on campus.
Ahwar Sultan, a second-year graduate student in comparative studies, filed the lawsuit Tuesday afternoon, claiming unconstitutional retaliation by the federal government in violation of the First and Fifth Amendments, according to the press release.
Ohio State’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine is also named as an official plaintiff in the lawsuit, according to the legal complaint.
Sultan, SJP and the U.S. Department of Justice did not respond to The Lantern’s requests for comment by the time of publication.
The lawsuit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia, alleged the Trump administration targeted Sultan for his participation in SJP, specifically an April 25 pro-Palestinian protest at which 36 people — 16 of whom were students, including Sultan — were arrested.
After being detained for roughly 12 hours, Sultan was released. His charges were later dismissed and expunged after he completed 10 hours of community service and attended a mandatory civil discourse workshop, the complaint states.
The lawsuit states prior to the arrest, Sultan had no prior history of academic discipline or arrests with local police.
Rafael Urena, the plaintiffs’ lawyer, said in the press release the visa revocation is a “clear case” of using immigration enforcement to punish political speech.
“Our client exercised his constitutional right to protest—and now faces the threat of deportation as a result,” Urena said in the press release.
The lawsuit alleges the revocation comes in light of state retaliation against students who have displayed pro-Palestinian views, as announced by Secretary of State Marco Rubio March 27. Rubio said the United States had revoked the visas of over 300 students as a part of Trump’s initiative to crack down on pro-Palestinian movements on college campuses, according to the BBC.
At the time of publication, 12 international Ohio State students have had their F-1 student visas revoked, according to university spokesperson Ben Johnson. This marks one additional student affected since Wednesday, per prior Lantern reporting.
Jana Al-Akhras, the plaintiffs’ lawyer, said in the press release First Amendment protections are the “bedrock” of U.S. democracy.
“Contrary to the assertions of this administration, those protections apply to both citizens and non-citizens,” Al-Alkhras said. “The Trump Administration’s attacks on higher education and courageous, outspoken students represent an attempt to intimidate dissenting Americans and non-citizens into silence.”
Sultan’s Student and Exchange Visitor Information System — also known as SEVIS — record was terminated just a week after Rubio’s March 27 press conference, according to the complaint.
According to the Department of Homeland Security website, when a F-1/M-1 SEVIS record is terminated, a student “cannot re-enter the United States on the terminated SEVIS record.” In addition, “Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents may investigate to confirm the departure of the student.”
The reason for Sultan’s SEVIS record termination was cited as “otherwise failing to maintain status – individual identified in criminal records check and/or has had their VISA revoked,” the complaint states.
The complaint goes on to allege the Trump administration’s actions are part of a wider effort to undermine free speech and protest at American public universities, as “revocation of an F-1 visa alone does not constitute grounds for SEVIS termination for students already lawfully admitted, according to ICE’s own guidelines.”
The lawsuit ultimately aims to ensure Sultan will not be detained, transferred or deported until defendants prove their actions were not discriminatory and/or in violation of the First and Fifth Amendments, according to the complaint.
This is a breaking news story that will be updated as more information is obtained.
