Metro State student sues, saying ICE unlawfully ended his legal status
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By: Becky Z. Dernbach, Sahan Journal
An international student at Metropolitan State University in St. Paul sued Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Tuesday, claiming the agency unlawfully terminated his legal student status over a drunk-driving conviction.
According to the lawsuit, ICE terminated the legal status for Rattanand Ratsantiboon, a nursing student from Thailand, on March 28. The reason entered in the database that tracks international students: “Student identified in criminal records check.”
Ratsantiboon, 31, was convicted of two driving violations in 2018: careless driving, a petty misdemeanor, and driving while impaired, a gross misdemeanor. He completed his probation and all requirements of his sentence in 2021, according to the lawsuit, and remained in good standing at school.
But a drunk driving conviction is not a lawful reason to terminate an international student’s status, the lawsuit argues. If a student fails to maintain a full course load or engages in unauthorized employment, the university or Department of Homeland Security can terminate their status. Under another provision of law, a visa holder’s status can be revoked for a “crime of violence” for a sentence of more than a year’s imprisonment.
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“Minor misdemeanor offenses do not meet this threshold for termination based on criminal history,” the lawsuit states.
A University of Minnesota student arrested by ICE in March, Doğukan Günaydın, was also targeted over a DWI conviction, according to federal court records. Günaydın has filed his own lawsuit, also claiming that a DWI is not grounds for revoking his student status.
Ana Pottratz Acosta, a law professor specializing in immigration law at Mitchell Hamline School of Law, said that under the administrations of Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, a DWI conviction might place an undocumented person slightly higher on the priority list for immigration enforcement, but was not considered a crime of “moral turpitude” or other crime that might lead to immediate deportation. Since international students enter through a legal process, the bar to deport them is slightly higher, she said.
“That said, though, there is some element of discretion,” she said.
David Wilson, an attorney representing Ratsantiboon, declined to comment. ICE and DHS did not respond to requests for comment.
Ratsantiboon is one of numerous international students in Minnesota and around the country whose legal status has been revoked in recent weeks. Minnesota State University Mankato, the University of Minnesota, St. Cloud State University and Metro State have all confirmed that one or more of their students lost status in recent weeks. In addition to Günaydın, ICE arrested a student at MSU Mankato. Most students who lost their status have not been arrested.
A student visa allows an international student to enter the United States, but once they arrive, it is their student status, rather than their visa, that determines whether they can stay lawfully. If a student loses their legal student status, they can be subject to removal proceedings. Typically, a university can terminate student status if the student fails to maintain a full course load or has been expelled. DHS can also terminate student status for a violation like working without authorization or changing to a different nonimmigrant status.
Typically, the Department of Homeland Security coordinates with a designated official at each university, who can reach out to a student if there is any problem with their status and give them an opportunity to contest a status revocation, Pottratz Acosta said.
“It appears like none of that normal process is happening, and that’s what the big problem is,” she said.
According to the lawsuit, ICE did not notify Ratsantiboon or Metro State when it terminated his status. Metro State discovered the termination when it checked its account in the Student Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), a platform run by DHS where universities and the federal government track and update the status of international students.
On March 31, Metro State notified Ratsantiboon that his record had been terminated, according to the lawsuit. Then on April 8, the university issued him a new I-20, a form that demonstrates students are legally enrolled in a program of study. But on the same day, ICE updated its termination of Ratsantiboon’s status to correspond with the new form — effectively voiding Metro State’s reinstatement of his status.
“On information and belief, Defendants’ action prohibits Plaintiff from applying for reinstatement,” the lawsuit says.
Though consular officers are authorized to use discretion to revoke a nonimmigrant visa at any time, according to the lawsuit, they must generally notify the visa holder of their intent to do so and provide the individual an opportunity to show why their visa should not be revoked.
Once the legal status has been revoked, however, there is no “right of administrative review” of ICE’s decision, according to the lawsuit. Neither ICE nor immigration judges have the authority to reinstate student status. And revoking Ratsantiboon’s status for any length of time will leave a gap in his immigration history and lawful status.
The lawsuit argues that ICE’s “unreviewable determination” to terminate Ratsantiboon’s status “exposes him to the possibility of ICE commencing removal proceedings against him,” “strips him of the ability to apply for employment authorization” in the future, and “could hinder his ability to become a lawfully admitted permanent resident in the future.”
The lawsuit asks the judge to order the federal government to reinstate Ratsantiboon’s SEVIS status retroactive to March 28.
