University of Washington
A federal judge in Tacoma has temporarily reinstated the legal status of a University of Washington doctoral student—identified only as “John Doe”—blocking Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from detaining or deporting him. The judge, Chief U.S. District Judge David Estudillo, said on Thursday that the government had not demonstrated that it followed its own regulations in terminating Doe’s status through the federal SEVIS system, which tracks international students.
Doe, a Chinese national eight months from completing his Ph.D., lost legal status following a 2023 DUI arrest, though he has not been convicted. His attorneys argue that such a charge does not meet the legal threshold for termination. Estudillo agreed there appears to be no clear regulatory basis for the action.
The ruling halts any removal action for two weeks, with a hearing for a preliminary injunction set for May 1. Doe’s case is among several in Washington where international students allege unjust termination of status based on vague or unverified data.