A US federal court has reportedly ruled that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) acted illegally when it revoked the visa status of an Indian-origin student due to a traffic ticket that had already been dismissed.
The case centers on Akshar Patel, an F-1 student whose legal status was terminated after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reported a years-old minor speeding issue during a mass sweep of its international student database. The judge said the decision was arbitrary and lacked a legal basis, rebuking the agency for terminating Patel’s student status without notice or due process and forcing him to discontinue his studies.Patel is an Indian citizen who entered the United States on an F-1 student visa and was studying at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
He is a private individual and has no criminal convictions. The only incident cited by the government was a 2018 traffic case involving speeding or reckless driving that was dismissed in its entirety.In early 2025, ICE launched what officials described as the “Criminal Alien Student Initiative” and reportedly ran the names of nearly 1.3 million international students through a federal crime database. Any match, including arrests, citations or dismissed cases, could result in action.
Patel’s name came up because of a 2018 ticket dismissal, after which ICE terminated his SEVIS record. This resulted in him being immediately removed from his position, banned from attending classes and putting him at risk of removal.Patel sued ICE, arguing that the termination violated the Administrative Procedure Act and basic due process protections. The case was heard by Ana C. Reyes, who ordered Patel’s status restored early in the proceedings and strongly criticized the ICE process as arbitrary and capricious.
The court noted that there was no conviction and no evidence that Patel posed any danger.On February 27, the court reportedly issued a final ruling on the merits and sided with Patel. The judge held that ICE’s termination of his F-1 status was arbitrary and unlawful, and rejected the government’s attempt to dismiss the case as moot after his record was quietly restored. The resolution formally condemns the agency’s reliance on dismissal or minor violations to terminate a student’s status.
