NRI PULSE STAFF REPORT
Atlanta, GA, April 18, 2025: Georgia civil rights groups and Kuck Baxter Immigration condemned the sudden visa revocations of international students across several Georgia colleges and universities during a press conference held in downtown Atlanta on Thursday.
Representatives from CAIR-Georgia, Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Georgia, and Kuck Baxter Immigration gathered outside the Richard B. Russell Federal Building & United States Courthouse following an emergency Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) hearing aimed at halting deportations and detentions of affected students.
The hearing followed a federal lawsuit filed by Kuck Baxter Immigration on behalf of 133 international students across the country—including 30 in Georgia—against Attorney General Pam Bondi, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons. The civil rights groups co-authored an amicus brief in support of the lawsuit, which alleges that the federal government misused the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) to terminate students’ legal status without due process.
SEVIS is a government system used to monitor international students’ immigration status. The plaintiffs argue that federal authorities unlawfully weaponized it to bypass legal procedures and forcibly remove students from the country, violating their Fifth Amendment rights.
“When the government doesn’t follow the rules, it requires people to stand up,” said Charles Kuck, founding partner at Kuck Baxter. “That’s what these students are doing… We will do everything possible to hold ICE accountable to the standards that they themselves developed.”
“None of this makes sense. None of these students did anything that would make them removable from the United States,” Baxter said at the press conference.
According to the complaint, international students from institutions such as Kennesaw State University, Georgia Tech, Emory University, and the University of Georgia were among those targeted.
Aaron Butler, Managing Attorney for CAIR-Georgia, highlighted the disproportionate impact on Muslim students and students of color. “The unlawful termination of SEVIS records continues a troubling pattern of targeting Muslims and other communities of color,” he said. “With seven federal courts already halting similar actions, we urge immediate relief to protect Georgia’s Muslim international students and the broader international student community that contributes over $1 billion annually to our state’s economy.”
Samantha Hamilton of Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Atlanta reinforced the constitutional protections owed to all individuals in the U.S., regardless of immigration status. “Across the state of Georgia, immigrants are cherished, valued members of the community—from Habersham County, to Buford Highway, to South Georgia—and they must be protected,” she said.
ACLU Georgia’s Legal Director Cory Isaacson added, “The Trump administration’s mass termination of students’ immigration statuses—without notice or due process—is another blatant assault on constitutional rights. The Constitution protects everyone on American soil, and this disregard for fundamental rights needs to be stopped.”
The lawsuit seeks an immediate court order preventing further enforcement actions and reinstating the legal status of affected students, many of whom now face the threat of detention and deportation. Advocates emphasized the urgency of relief, as students could be detained in Georgia facilities where, they say, documented human rights violations are rampant.
